


Change of Heart

by Scion_of_Olympia



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: OC characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:34:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 23,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26327947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scion_of_Olympia/pseuds/Scion_of_Olympia
Summary: As the Gem Empire is torn apart by rebellion, a fiercely loyal, and experimental, homeworld gem is stranded on Earth after a disastrous battle with a rebel cell. Her loyalty is unshakable, her will that of iron. But even iron rusts, and she will have to make her own decisions, form her own opinions, when she learns the truth.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	1. Loyalty Unwavering

**Above a far flung Homeworld colony, a battle rages between a Homeworld fleet and Rebel Gem forces set on eradicating the Diamond Authority.**

"Divert all power to the forward batteries, let's blast them to oblivion!" Yelled the ship master, an emerald who had been recently made to fill the rank of ship master for her Diamond, her thick battle plate resting comfortably on her frame. She was in command of a gem cruiser, the Diamond's Edge, in the fleet of White Diamond, with High Admiral Emerald 7CK, their greatest fleet commander, leading the fleet. They were engaging a force of enemy ships belonging to a rebel cell calling themselves The Spirit Insurgence, one of the many rebellions that have sprung up since The First Rebellion, over the colony world of Fortuna.

"Aye aye ship master, forwarding all power to forward batteries," said a peridot. A whirring noise increasing in volume filled the bridge as the forward guns prepared to fire. Energy gathered at the tips of the weapons, collating into a large, bright ball of green energy at each barrel. The guns fired with an eardrum shattering boom, the beams of energy hurtling towards the enemy cruiser firing at a homeworld frigate. The impact of the projectiles shook the bridge and the entire ship, the gems in the bridge cheering as explosions riddled the enemy ship until it burst into a blinding supernova.

"That'll teach them to attack the Gem Empire!" yelled a Tiger's Eye, on of Emerald's lieutenants as she cheered their victory along with her fellow soldiers. All the gems on board cheered and whooped in joy, then a beeping noise interrupted the cheerful atmosphere.

"Ship master, two rebel frigates have jumped from FTL, and are sending out fighters to overwhelm us," a peridot reported.

Emerald then tapped a comm piece on her ear. "All pilot crews, report to your fighters and await my signal," she ordered. In the hangar bay, Nephrite crews rushed to prep their fighters, running to and fro, prepping their energy cannons, making sure their targeting systems were operational, and awaiting the signal from Emerald.

As all this was commencing, the rebel fighters flew past the bridge, chasing down stray imperial gem fighters from previous dogfights. The imperial gems try to outmaneuver their enemy, shooting down a few as they went, but ultimately they fell to the overwhelming numbers of their foe. All of a sudden, Emerald barked orders to the pilots to take off and shoot down any enemy star fighters they see. The pilot crews took off with speed, forming into their squadrons and targeting enemy fighter squadrons.

"Get our cruiser in range of those frigates, NOW!" Emerald yelled, the peridots scrambling with the controls, moving the ship away from the various dogfights towards their target. "Prime the cannon batteries and missile launchers, I want those frigates turned into scrap the moment we get in range," she said.

"Yes ship master, prepping main batteries and missile launchers," a peridot responded.

As the cruiser made its way to the rebel frigates, it had to maneuver around battles between gem forces and the rebel battle group. Two gem cruisers and a rebel battleship were dueling off their port bow, the homeworld gems desperately trying to gain the upper hand. The homeworld cruisers firing their cannon batteries and missile launchers at the enemy ship, all the while homeworld and rebel fighter squadrons dueled in the space between the ships, no clear winner emerging from the fighting. It seemed that the gem cruisers would be destroyed by the battleship, until the battleship's shields gave way under their barrage of fire, giving the homeworld cruisers the opportunity they needed. Shots from the two cruisers tore through the battleship's hull plating, torn apart by the concentrated plasma blasts until it was decimated. The homeworld cruisers now focused their anti-aircraft fire on the rebel fighters and gunned them down in droves, quick pinpricks of light signifying their destruction in the blackness of the void. As the cruiser moved closer to the frigates, Emerald heard the frantic and panicked cries of imperial gems asking for assistance before being abruptly cut off as a homeworld battleship near their position was torn in two by two rebel dreadnoughts. She shuddered. It unnerved her how once loud and vibrant voices could be so violently and suddenly silenced and turned to look at her crew. She dreaded that fate befalling them, or herself for that matter. She resolved to the best of her ability to not let it happen to her crew, or die in the attempt.

A ruby, observing through the transparent window panels in the bridge of the cruiser, growled angrily at the destruction of the homeworld battleship. These rebels had been causing the Empire much trouble for the past thirty years, and they had cornered them over one of the colony worlds in the outer reaches of Homeworld territory. They had laid a trap for the rebels, an unprotected colony world about to begin production of new gems, weapons and warships. It was too much of an opportunity for the rebels to miss, and they had engaged the rebel flotilla once they took the bait.

Many good, loyal gems were needlessly slaughtered in this rebellion, and that made her hate the rebel gems even more. It was a pointless loss of life, loss of skilled gems that can never be truly replaced, despite there being millions of each gem type, save for the diamonds themselves. Many of her comrades she had been created with had died by their hands, of wayward gems who thought they were special, were different than everyone else and that they were exempt from the rules that all the others had to follow. Comrades she could never get back. Memories she had looked back on fondly were tainted by their shattering, and now they only caused her unending grief. The fact that rebels still existed, that they slaughtered thousands, if not millions of loyal imperial gems, destroyed countless colony worlds, wasted so many resources, and insult the entire gem race by betraying it for an ideal, and had the gall to call it all just, honorable, made her sick.

She pushed her thoughts into the back of her mind for later. Right now, she had a job to do, and that was to guard the ship. To many gems, she was uncharacteristically tall for her gem type. Usually rubies would be small, runtish foot soldiers, cannon fodder in the early days of the Authority. This ruby however, towered over her counterparts, reaching a Jasper's midriff in height, and was bulkier than most rubies, clad in armor more befitting a heavy shock trooper than a regular soldier, with increased thickness on the armor plating covering her chest, as it covered her gem, but if required, had a small sliding section so that her gem could be accessed with ease. Not to mention her increased levels of intellect when compared to other rubies, though that wasn't saying much. Her gem even was different than most rubies, with her gem being a new type of ruby, a Royal Ruby to be exact. Her gem type was to be an upgrade on the regular ruby design, smarter, faster, stronger, more resilient. The sole purpose of her existence was to create a better ruby soldier, a test to see if White Diamond's experimental new cannon fodder worked as intended, though she didn't know this. In fact, she hadn't been made aware of her true purpose, being informed by her Diamond that she was a ruby, like the literal billions of other rubies in service to the Diamond Authority.

"All batteries and launch bays, fire on those Frigates!" Emerald ordered.

"Aye aye ship master, firing batteries and launchers," a peridot said.

A continuous stream of plasma blasts and missiles streamed from the homeworld cruiser towards the rebel frigates, the enemy ships trying in vain to flee the battle. The first frigate went down in flames, escape pods jettisoning from the remains of the ship. The second ship imploded, the reactor overloading, leaving no survivors. Suddenly, a holovid of a Peridot appeared on the ships holovid screen. "Ship master Emerald 3LM, I have urgent news," she said.

"Well spit it out. I'm in the middle of an all out battle and I can't afford to lose," Emerald said with a huff. She was beyond annoyed that she was disturbed while fighting the rebel forces. It had better be important.

"Yes ship master, I am here to tell you the terrible news that High Admiral Emerald 7CK has fallen," she said.

All the gems in the bridge were stunned into silence, their minds trying to comprehend the information the peridot delivered.

The ruby was hit hard by this development. High Admiral Emerald 7CK falling in battle?! How could this be possible?! The High Admiral had served the Authority for over two thousand years, participating in countless battles and campaigns more complex and horrendous than this. It seemed like a practical joke gone wrong. A gem of her status and experience felled by mere rebels when she had faced worse, nearly comical if the situation wasn't so dire. Ruby 1VZ had personally never met the High Admiral in person, but the pride she instilled in her subordinates and the awe she inspires when her flagship, The Will of the Diamonds, takes the field had led her to respect the high ranking gem in a way comparable to how she viewed the Diamonds. Not on the same level, but just one level below. Her death at the hand of these rebels only steeled her resolve and her hatred. She vowed to the Diamonds and on her gem a vow she would hold onto forever. To Destroy. Every. Single. One of them.

"Yellow Diamond has taken command of the fleet and has ordered a full frontal assault on the rebel forces, Peridot 2FD out."

The holovid flickered off, but none of the gems even noticed, still trying to comprehend the mind boggling information that was given. Suddenly, a beep snapped one peridot out of her trance, and she looked at the message, only to gasp in horror.

"S-s-ship master Emerald, a fleet of rebel dreadnoughts have jumped from FTL, and are attacking the fleet."

A flurry of transmissions were filling the bridge.

"This is the Titania, we are being overwhelmed! Need immediate reinforce-"

This is the Avalon calling for assistance, we won't last long out her-"

This is the Retribution, we are being boarded, SEND HELP!"

The transmissions ended, the gems staring at the comm unit in horror. A 'thunk' made everyone turn their heads towards the ceiling, two more following.

"We are being boarded, everyone to their battle stations," said Emerald. As she turned around the gems were still staring at the ceiling, waiting for whatever made the noise to come crashing through. Emerald, frustrated, grieving and furious, shouted, "WE ARE BEING BOARDED, EVERYONE TO THEIR BATTLE STATIONS!"

The gems hurried to their positions, quartz shock troopers, topaz bodyguards and ruby soldiers preparing their weapons and digging in for the fight at hand, hefting boarding shields and hiding behind bulkheads, the peridots manning their automated defense turrets and aiming their arm mounted plasma blasters, and the rest of the crew grabbed old gem weapons that were only to be used in boarding actions and dire situations, and readied themselves for battle. The ship master pulled out a plasma blaster and pointed towards the origin of the sound, the soldiers following her lead.

As the homeworld soldiers waited for the battle to commence, the anticipation almost palpable, three buzz saws cut through the hull of the ship near the entrance to the bridge. They circled around until they formed an almost perfect circle, then withdrew and the circle of metal fell to the floor, with dozens of rebel gems dropping from the hole, bringing their own blasters and boarding shields to bear as they charged the homeworld gems.

The ruby soldier raised her blaster and fired it in quick succession, shattering a large rebel Quartz gem that had tried to charge her. She downed two more rebels before she was forced behind cover by a barrage of fire from the rebel gems which caught a few homeworld rubies off guard, shattering them in an instant. Her mind filled with images of the shards of her close comrades, scattering across the ground on a distant backwater colony world. She never got to recover them, the battle they fell in demanded nearly everything she had to offer and she couldn't stop fighting to collect their remains despite how badly she wanted to. When the battle was finished she looked for their remains, hoping desperately beyond hope that they were still there. To her dismay, she couldn't find them, the oppressive sorrow gripped her very being. She mourned for them to this day, her sorrow seeming to have no end. Then her sorrow had, over time, bred into her an unyielding rage and hatred. She held onto that hatred, using it to fuel her actions on the battlefield from that moment on. She screamed a horrendous war cry and rushed a rebel position, nearly unaware of her actions as she attacked two low grade Quartz soldiers. She launched herself at the nearest Quartz, slamming into their midsection, sending both tumbling to the ground. Before the Quartz could even try to defend herself, the Ruby brandished her plasma blaster and fired at the rebel gem, shattering her gem when the plasma made contact. She dodged a rapid swing of the second gem's battle ax before she was driven back to the Imperial lines, firing her blaster in rapid bursts, taking down multiple rebel gems with each burst of fire.

Over the next few minutes, the sounds of blasters firing, the clang of metal against metal, the screams of the dying filled the ship, with neither side gaining an advantage over the other, decks being split in half as each side established themselves in the bowels of the vessel. The battle swung back and forth, each side making gains on some deck levels through deeds of equal heroism and skill, but being driven back and losing others through attrition and sheer brutality of the fighting. As the battle raged on, the homeworld gems started to gain the upper hand as the flow of rebel soldiers began to lessen, key sections of the ship being won from rebel control, cutting off small cells of rebel forces from the main body, allowing the homeworld forces to utterly eradicate them without mercy. Eventually, the rebels began to falter in their advance, their near unending tide coming to a stop as the boarding parties eventually ran dry of manpower, forcing their actions to become defensive, clinging to what gains they already made, and their morale wavered. Seeing this opportunity, Emerald moved from her position behind cover and charged the remaining rebels.

"Their reinforcements have stopped, all forces advance and slaughter any rebel you see!" yelled Emerald.

The gem soldiers yelled in victory and surged forward to overwhelm the enemy, killing the rebel gems in droves. This situation occurred throughout the vessel, deck by deck, the imperial gems overwhelmed the numerically inferior boarding parties and culling them in short order.

As Quartz, Topaz, and Ruby soldiers celebrated their victory, their celebrations were cut short when a major tremor shook the ship, knocking a few gems off their feet. A rebel dreadnought had caught the cruiser in its sights and was sending volleys of shot their way. Volleys of shot pounded at the cruiser's shields, wearing them down to such a level that they flickered after each impact, allowing some of the munitions to strike against the vessel's hull, damaging and outright destroying subsystems and control modules. After a particularly large tremor, a Peridot informed Emerald that their communications array was down, and most of the ships systems were offline. As the crew rushed to their battle stations, Emerald called over her top lieutenant.

"We won't win this battle with the ships we have. There are simply too many rebel ships in this sector, and we can't call in reinforcements with our communications array down," Emerald growled as she pondered what to do.

"What are your orders, ship master?" the Tiger's Eye asked.

Emerald made to answer, but paused as she began to think. After a minute of this had passed, she had a solution.

"Lieutenants!" yelled emerald. A Topaz and a Tiger's eye ran forward and saluted. Their armor was designed to show their rank as well as to protect the gem of the soldier that wore it. It was efficiently crafted, with intricate designs designed to exemplify the Diamonds etched into the metal covering their chests and lower body. On their breastplate was a silver bar on the left side of the breastplate, symbolizing their rank as lieutenants. They carried curved rectangular boarding shields with the Diamond authority sigil across the front, with a small embrasure in it, and plasma carbines strapped to their backs. Their equipment was standard among the officer core, and elite infantry of the Diamond Authority naval forces, with regular crew members and soldiers assigned to guard the ship receiving basic kits of battle plate that covered their chests, arms, legs, and wherever their gem may reside on their frame, with extra thick armor plating being placed there.

"I need you two to take a company of soldiers and use the escape pods to get to a homeworld vessel, or a colony with a working communications array, and relay a command to any flotilla within a reasonable distance to join the battle here at all haste."

The two lieutenants saluted and said, "Yes ship master, it will be done."

The ruby was somewhat displeased with this development, though her displeasure was overshadowed by the ever present grief in the back of her thoughts. She and a few hundred of the soldiers and crew of the ship, along with two lieutenants were to leave the ship and rally reinforcements from any nearby Homeworld systems. She had hoped to stick around for more fighting, but recognized the soundness of the plan presented by ship master Emerald that she overheard. What they were to do after they accomplished this mission, she didn't know. She was a soldier, and soldiers were not to be bothered with those kind of details. They made their way to the escape pods near the aft section of the ship, all the while the ruby, at the head of the group, scanned her surroundings with her ruby comrades.

They soon reached the escape pods, there were fifty in total, and the ruby and her fellow soldiers were ordered to wait until the rest of the crew entered the pods first, before entering themselves. The ruby, Ruby 1VZ, entered one pod, and found herself sharing the space with two Peridots, four Quartzs, two of them Jaspers, a Bismuth and another Ruby. She sat next to the ruby, feeling more comfortable next to a gem of her caste and type. After a minute of waiting, their pod rose from is position and sped after the other escape pods, whom had already sped off into the star speckled inky black blanket of space.

'Well, we aren't dead yet, so that's good,' the ruby thought. She had hoped for the best, but was slightly tensed in case they were to be suddenly exposed to the vacuum of space. When she saw that they had made it beyond the cruiser, and a few other ships, she had relaxed after breathing a sigh of relief. However, she was proven wrong when her escape pod was violently shaken as incoming fire glanced off of the outer plating of the pod, the craft finally being thrown off course by a particularly large explosion, sending her and her fellow gems careening off course into the abyss that was space.


	2. Chapter 2

'This is so boring, I can't stand it,' she thought, sighing in boredom in the escape pod as it sped through the vast emptiness of space.

The flight so far has been uneventful. The Peridots were ordered by the highest ranking gem in the pod, that being the largest Jasper, to repair any damage to the pod repairable, and to find their trajectory to see if there were any Homeworld controlled systems in their path. So far, the search has come up empty, but the Jasper insisted that they keep searching. The Jasper had looked at each gem in the pod, and once her gaze landed on Ruby 1VZ, she stopped and stared for a good minute, before shaking her head and returned to monitering the Peridots

Ruby 1VZ was smart enough to have noticed a few things in her lifetime that kept happening. Namely other gems giving her weird looks, or treating her differently. She had thought for most of her life that it was due to her being a ruby. Rubies are runtish soldiers, that much she acknowledged despite being a ruby herself, and couldn't compete with the sheer combat prowess of larger and more powerful warrior caste gem types like Quartzes. They didn't even come close to an Onyx Honor Guard, who could take on an entire company of Quartz soldiers and come out on top with few to no scratches. The thought of a ruby defeating such a powerful gem nearly made her laugh aloud at the absurdity. No, she had asked multiple rubies of different units and different Diamonds if they received the same treatment, and their answers were no so something else was happening, and she was beginning to wonder, despite her station as a soldier.

Ruby finally began to look around at the interior of her pod, and she was surprised to say the least.

'Seriously, how big is this thing, it seemed so small on the outside? Then again I wasn't really paying mind to the size of the craft at the time,' she thought.

The craft was quite roomy for an escape pod, she was able to stretch out to the fullest extent and have some room left over in her corner of the pod. The Quartzes and Jaspers could sit upright without difficulty, even in full plate, and there was room still for the Peridots to bustle about with repairs and touch screens displaying information that she couldn't even begin to wrap her head around.

She decided to try and talk to the ruby to her left, but got little more than sniffles and a few shaky sobs here and there in return. She herself was still dealing with the loss of the High Admiral, so she could empathize, to an extent. She couldn't be seen as weak by her fellow soldiers. She would loose all their respect, she was sure of it, if she showed weakness. She had to be strong, no matter what.

"I just c-can't believe that she's g-g-gone." A voice to her left said.

She glanced back towards the ruby when she heard her voice. It was a soft one, not harsh or stern, nor grating on the ears, and it was kinda nice to listen to. In truth, she had expected to be left alone for the rest of the flight, but this was an unexpected, but not unwanted, interaction.

"I thought that the High Admiral couldn't be b-broken, because she's so awesome and like, cool. N-now, she's gone, and it hurts so much," The ruby said with a shaky tone.

She laid her hand on the ruby's shoulder subtly, making sure that she wasn't seen, and gave them a comforting squeeze, offering what little she could. She was about to speak to the ruby when a disgusted scoff cut her off.

"Quit your crying. There's no place for weakness in any warrior serving the Diamonds, especially White Diamond. You're pathetic." A Jasper said with a sneer.

This Jasper had the basic characteristics of a Quartz soldier, and a Jasper. She was tall, muscular, and fierce with a mane of white hair cascading down her back. The gem wore a standard White Diamond uniform, with the insignia in the center of the chest with two shoulder straps connecting to a skin tight body glove, with minature white diamonds on the knees of the body glove. Her gem glinted in the lights of the ship, located on the soldier's left shoulder. Covering all of this was a suit of heavy battle plate, with the heraldry of a unit specializing in void warfare and boarding actions covering the pauldrons and breastplate, with a large, white diamond at the center of the breastplate.

Ruby 1VZ knew this Jasper, Jasper 9MX, much to her displeasure. They were often paired with one another on patrols around the ship and boarding actions, both offensive and defensive. She was brash, crude, and always looking for a fight, the best qualities for a Quartz soldier. For whatever reason, she would never be paired with her fellow rubies after loosing her comrades, despite the fact that rubies work best together amongst members of their own caste. Working with the shock troops that were Quartzes and Jaspers only created problems. Whenever Quartz soldiers and rubies worked together, the rubies would often be pushed to the side in a fight, the Quartzes preferring to keep them out of the way, while the "real" soldiers fought the enemy. She herself had been brushed to the side more times than she could count by the Quartz soldiers, waiting impatiently for an opportunity to join the battle, but the Quartz soldiers never allowed such a thing to happen.

She was about to retort to the Jasper's words, but she was cut off by the lead Jasper. "Jasper 9MX, enough!"

This Jasper differed from her companions greatly. She towered over every single gem in the pod by a good margin, was exponentially more muscular than most Quartz soldiers, and had a flowing cape pinned to her shoulders to show her rank, and her armor was embellished to befit her rank. She was of a command role, with the heraldry of a unit that, upon closer inspection, was primarily a garrison force, guarding territory won in combat in case of recidivism and counterattack.

She rapidly moved in front of Jasper 9MX and pointed her finger at her. "We are separated from Homeworld forces, lost in the vast recesses of space with no way of knowing if we will survive or not, and to top it all off, we just lost the High Admiral, so I don't need you of all gems causing rifts amongst us. For all we know, we are the last of White Diamond's forces, we need to stick together, so shut it and keep your comments to yourself," The large gem ordered.

Jasper 9MX, intimidated by the sheer size of the Jasper in front of her and by her loud scolding, reluctantly acquiesced to the jasper's demands.

Ruby 1VZ felt her hand be squeezed and looked to her left and saw that the ruby had taken her hand. The unspoken thanks in the ruby's eyes wasn't missed by Ruby 1VZ, and soon her hand was released.

A sudden beep directed the attention of everyone in the pod towards one of the peridots manning the navigation holo screen. The lead Jasper, Jasper 1MX, swiftly made her way over to the peridot and the two began to discuss in earnest. Ruby 1VZ heard snippets of the conversation, but couldn't listen closer without being obvious.

"-headed straight towards a planetary satellite in orbit-"

"-planetary system? Gem controlled or-"

"-don't know, we could-"

"-that you do, we can't afford-"

"Understood, researching now."

Jasper 1MX nodded in satisfaction and returned to her seat near the Bismuth. Ruby 1VZ wasn't too sure she liked what she heard, or more specifically, what parts of the conversation she didn't hear, but she dare not ask a superior. She was a common foot soldier, and such details were above her caste. She resolved that, with her situation and social standing amongst her peers, she would wait it out and see for herself what will unveil. With that, she closed her eyes, and drifted off into nothingness.

**Three and a half months later**

She was awoken from her rest by a light touch on her shoulder, and she saw that it was the ruby from earlier. Her eyes shifted to the gems around her, and Ruby 1VZ finally took note of her surroundings. The Quartz soldiers were busy readying themselves, the Bismuth was sitting silently, and the Peridots were furiously working on their holo screens, agitated conversations reaching her ears about things that boggled her mind.

"We're getting close to our destination, Jasper 1MX ordered us to prepare for impact," the ruby spoke.

She nodded absentmindedly, getting comfortable again, before the word "impact" registered in her mind, wheeling back towards the ruby with the incredulous cry of "Impact?!" on her lips.

"Yes, we're about to crash land on a planetary satellite in orbit of the planet Earth. Jasper 1MX ordered us to get ready for impact, though I don't really know what that means. What does impact mean?" the ruby asked.

"It means we're about to crash!" Ruby 1VZ exclaimed.

The ruby looked to be in deep thought for a few moments, her nose scrunched up, her eyebrows pinched together, before a look of knowing burst on her face, swiftly replaced by a look of fear. She was about to nod vigorously in agreement when Jasper 1MX screamed "Brace for impact!", and then everything exploded.


	3. Chapter 3

Garnet watched as Steven and Connie were playing a made up game, something about detectives and a big mystery to solve, smiling at their laughter. It reminded her of Ruby and Sapphire's relationship, the relationship that made Garnet...well Garnet.

She was reminded of a time when their Steven was a little babe swaddled in a blanket, laughing at the jingling of keys. Now look at him, growing up little by little. She almost wished for the times when all he could do was coo and wiggle around, but she pushed those wishful thoughts away. She wouldn't trade her Steven for anything.

As she observed the two play, the tell tale signs of a vision made her smile vanish and her body tense in preparation. In her vision, she saw a large, round object crash violently into the moon, and a large ruby emerge from the object. This ruby was large, larger than she remembered a ruby being, with some kind of weapon strapped to her back. Before her vision ended, she saw the gem make her way to the Moon Base, and it was over.

She called up Pearl and Amethyst and quickly told them of her vision, then with an urgency, they raced to the warp pad, quickly telling Steven and Connie that they'll be back in a minute, and warped towards the Moon Base.

They had a visitor to greet.

**The Moon**

Ruby 1VZ opened her eyes to a scene of destruction. The inside of the pod was heavily damaged, multiple panels were missing, exposing the sparking wires inside. She looked to the front of the pod, seeing the main console utterly smashed and ruined. What she didn't see, were her comrades. There were no Quartz or Jasper soldiers, nor did she see any Peridots, and she couldn't find the ruby anywhere. Then she saw them. Scattered all over the floor were the gems of her comrades, the Jaspers and Quartz soldiers, Peridots, and the singular ruby near her side of the pod, their armor laying where it fell, some suits damaged, others unblemished. She sat there in shock, not quite believing that she was the sole survivor. Then she had another issue. Where were they? She decided that she needed to scout the area, to make sure that they weren't in any danger or enemy territory. So she made her way to the entrance of the pod, pulling the blaster rifle out of its sling on her back and readying it to be safe, and in the distance she saw a large structure that was vaguely familiar to her, but she couldn't place what made it familiar. Ruby 1VZ decided to check it out.

She leaped out of the pod, and was met with the uncomfortable feeling of near weightlessness. She disliked going out in space. It's mostly due to her discomfort from the lack of large amounts of gravity, but it's also partially due to her bad experience with the vacuum of space, and nearly consigning herself to suicide by floating too far from anything to grab onto during a siege of a rebel outpost on an asteroid. A large Quartz soldier saved her from the near infinite void, and she resolved to never allow that to happen again. She set out for the large, towering structure and got a nagging feeling that she was being watched, but couldn't find where it was coming from no matter which direction she looked, so she decided to disregard it. As a soldier she had more important matters to attend to.

She arrived at the large structure, the massive doors casting a large shadow. She put her rifle into its sling and put her fingers between the doors and began to pull with all her might, slowly pulling them apart, creating an opening that she slipped into, the doors slamming together behind her with a mighty bang. The ruby began to venture into the structure, going through winding passages and corridors. She opened the slot over her gem and projected a light from her gemstone in the middle of her chest, a cherry red, to help her find her way to the command center. Along the way, she saw multiple murals, some depicting the colonization of a planet, some depicting the Diamonds in all their glory, and others depicting a rebellion of some sorts, but from where, she couldn't make out.

Homeworld had crushed numerous rebellions since she had first been created. From the first moment since she popped out of the ground, all she knew was war. Her home colony of Atticus 9 was besieged by a rebel armada that were invading the planet. She along with a company of rubies and a platoon of Quartz soldiers had managed to defend their Kindergarten from enemy elements attempting to sabotage it, and later helped in repelling and ultimately destroying the rebel forces entirely thanks to Imperial reinforcements from the Diamonds. From there she had participated in innumerable campaigns against rebellious worlds and rebel cells, all of them ended in victory. Except this one. She didn't know why these rebellions happened, perhaps a defective gem inspired others to question the rule of the Diamonds, and to try and think of something better than the Diamonds, to attain "freedom" through armed rebellion. Or maybe they were just defective, as the Authority couldn't make gems like they used to. Though of course, nothing was better than the Diamonds. They were perfect in every way possible. She couldn't see the reason for rebellion. It was perfection to serve the Diamonds, as they were created to serve a purpose. What better way to live your existence than to serve your purpose and to further the aims of your race and empire? To betray one's race was idiotic, especially if it was for ideals, unattainable, immaterial things that can't be observed nor touched, yet was worth killing your own kind for. She scoffed at that.

She came across what she inferred to be the main command center, multiple ascending steps leading to a large throne. In front of the throne was a large, curved, square terminal. Probably the main terminal of the entire compound. The ruby ascended the stairs and accessed the terminal by tapping it. She needed to see if she could get a distress signal to any nearby Homeworld system, they needed to get back to the fleet. To the Diamonds.

The computer came online, showing a holo-projection of an empty command screen. She typed in the command to bring up all historical data, from the bases' conception, to the abandonment of the facility. On her way here, she took note of an ancient mode of travel, a warp pad. It was useful to the ancient gems, establishing an almost instantaneous form of travel, able to move cargo and soldiers quickly to where they are needed. This was most effective during the expansion period of the empire, when void ships were too slow to move objects and troops quickly from place to place on a planet's surface.

The computer, began to bring up a long list of records, from its conception ten thousand years ago, to its abandonment only a thousand years ago. She made sure to start a long range scan to see if there were any systems nearby as she watched this. She did just that and she clicked on the file, and the holovid began to play. The planet appeared to be untouched, unspoiled by large structures. Then archaic ships flew from the moon facility, and landed on the planet's surface, immediately setting up kindergartens on the planet. She gasped. It was the planet Earth, the failed colony of Pink Diamond, and the origin of the rebellions raging across the Homeworld Empire.

The planet's surface on some continents appeared to have ancient gem buildings, signs of colonization. She saw the establishment of a couple kindergartens, power generators for the many buildings that were sprouting up all over the planet, and the establishment of a few bases of operations, where the Diamond the planet was assigned to administer the colony was made aware of and could quickly respond to any situation that arose. Pink Diamond was assigned to this planet, and the ruby bowed her head in sadness.

Pink Diamond, the pseudo daughter of the Diamonds, beloved by all for her happy, go lucky attitude, was shattered on this planet by the wretched gem Rose Quartz. She gleaned this information from the conversations of older veteran gems of campaigns that predated even her creation. They had seen it with their own eyes how Rose Quartz, leader of the rebellion, ruthlessly shattered the young Diamond, no mercy upon the traitor gem's face as she committed the deed. Most gems weren't even aware of the 'Gem War' as it was referred to by the older gems.

Apparently information on it was locked up under lock and key by the Diamonds personally. She wasn't even supposed to know it even happened, let alone the gritty details. The older gems that had one served under Pink Diamond, now assigned to other Diamond Divisions, still grieve like it happened yesterday. She returned her attention back to the holovid.

The mining of resources was going along smoothly, with shipments almost weekly full of precious metals, new soldiers, technicians, pilots, and new models of ships and weapons. Then the shipments started to lessen, going down to a shipment a month, then a year, then it finally stopped altogether. Revolts across the planet quickly gained a foothold, capturing numerous bases across the planet's surface, many casualties resulting in those defeats. Many times she noted that these mini rebellions could have been squashed, nipped in the bud before they could take root, but every time Pink Diamond's forces got anywhere near close to capturing the rebels, they disappeared, unable to be tracked or captured. Then the identity of the rebel leader was found. It was a Rose Quartz gem, a defensive, healing gem that wasn't made for front line combat. This Rose Quartz however, was different from the rest.

This Rose Quartz was a master tactician, outmaneuvering and smashing Pink Diamond's battalions with somewhat relative ease at every turn. There were a few pitched battles where Pink Diamond's forces were able to take victory, but those victories couldn't stop the rebels from attacking with increasing ferocity and frequency. The imperial gem forces were driven from multiple holdings and territories to their final stronghold near the northwestern landmass The rebels laid siege to the fortress, slowly driving back the Homeworld gems until they were at their citadel. There is where it happened, the unthinkable shattering of Pink Diamond, right outside the citadel's gates, outside of her Palanquin no less. It made no sense to her as to how the rebel leader got to Pink Diamond, let alone shattered her. Diamonds were the toughest, most powerful gems in existence, and as such were guarded to the fullest extent that one could be guarded. Battalions of gems solely dedicated to their safety, entire cadres of Onyx honor guards were handpicked from among their elite formations for their skills and military records to guard the Diamonds. No one could come close to their power, much less shatter them. Yet that fact was proven to be false in a most horrendous fashion.

She took a break from watching the holovid to check on her search. So far, the scanner had found nothing as of yet, but she had to keep trying. Certain events however, would prevent her from accomplishing her mission. A beep from the terminal and a small window with text on it revealed to her that a warp signature was headed her way and fast. She closed all the programs, made sure to erase all evidence of her activity here and raced to the exit. She heard the musical notes of the warp pad, and knew she wouldn't make it to the exit in time, so she hid behind a pillar, hoping and praying to the Diamonds that these gems didn't catch her.

What kind of gems would the arrivals be? Would they be Rebels? Psychopaths? She hoped for the former but prepared for the latter. She peered over her hiding place to discover a few gems, three in total. There was a pearl, wielding a spear, an amethyst holding a flail in her hand, and a gem she has never seen before, towering over its two companions, huge red spiked gauntlets covered her hands, dark shades hiding her eyes. The smaller two gems began to make their way to the outpost, while the towering gem stood there at the warp pad, looking around the structure's many pillars and corridors. She didn't really want to be gawking at them, she just wanted to get out of here and as far away from them as she possibly could get.

"Garnet, the command console is this way, you looking for something?" asked the quartz, curiously looking at her tall companion.

The gem, referred to as Garnet by her companion, suddenly locked her gaze with hers, and she froze in terror, one thought running through her mind. Her death. Then, the gem turned to look at her smaller companion, shaking her head no as she made to catch up, the trio entering the base. Ruby 1VZ slumped down behind her pillar, chest heaving, her form shaking from the terror she experienced. If she had even twitched, she was sure she would have been exposed and then shattered by the gems. Ruby 1VZ had never seen such a gem, and it's cold, calculating gaze behind the shades terrified her, as if she could see into her very being and pick her apart piece by piece. She shakily made her way to her ship, closing the entrance, and promptly screamed.

"Oh my Diamonds that was close! If that gem gave away my position, I would've been captured or worse!" she exclaimed.

She paced around the ship, working off the terror and fear she still had. Finally calming down, she decided to calm down from her near death experience, and began to plan on how she would get back into the base without the rebel gems noticing. All the while she hoped that her comrades would reform sometime soon, she needed some company.


	4. Confrontation

Ruby 1VZ left the dark emptiness of slumber to be greeted by the damaged metal interior of the ship, the panels still sparking despite crashing over a few hours ago. She stretched, loosening the stiffness she noticed halfway through her recharge period, and made her way to the entrance of the pod, gazing out at the large structure in the distance. She then lost interest, and pulled her rifle from its sling to do some maintenance on it, pulling out a cleaning cloth and rubbing at the scuffs and scrapes on her weapon, determined to make them look polished and clean.

As she cleaned her weapon, she stole glances at the gems still scattered on the floor. She desperately hoped for at least one of them to reform, to fill the silence in the pod with shouting, yelling, arguing, she didn't care, at least something to distract from the maddening loneliness and silence. She also didn't want to be alone if by any chance the rebel gems were to catch her in her mission. While she didn't doubt her skills as a warrior and a soldier, it was still three gems against one, and she didn't want to bet on those odds.

She rubbed furiously at some plasma buildup near the end of the barrel of her blaster, the blockage slowly being ground down. The plasma buildup was eventually ground down to a level deemed acceptable, and the ruby slung the rifle onto her back. She made her way to the escape pod entrance, and with a little flip as she did so, jumped out of the pod onto the moon's surface.

As she made her way into the base, passing the murals and up the winding staircase into the main room with the head terminal, she got an uneasy feeling. It wormed its way into her mind, rooting itself within the depths of her psyche, unwilling to detach itself. Ruby 1VZ had the feeling that something bad was going to happen. It was a thought that kept reappearing in her thoughts as she accessed the terminal once more, resuming the scan from the day before, hoping beyond hope that she could reach any Diamond forces and get help.

If only she knew that she wouldn't reach them in time.

**A few minutes later**

After sitting at the terminal bored out of her mind for the duration of the scan, she perked up when she saw that the scan was eighty percent done. She inwardly sighed in relief. Once the scan was complete, she could take the data and make her way to the nearest homeworld controlled system and deliver the message, and maybe get some help in getting back to the fleet, to the Diamonds.

A message popped onto the screen, bringing her out of her thoughts. She squeaked in fear and dread when she read the message. A warp signature was making its way here, and fast. Probably the rebels from the day before. She quickly glanced at the loading bar, ninety percent. She huffed in frustration. Ruby 1VZ was a soldier, a gem specifically made for combat. But the training and psychological indoctrination she went through did little to suppress her instincts, and they were practically shouting at her to run away before the trio of rebels made their way here. But she brushed aside those concerns, her mission is to find a way back to the Diamonds, and by her honor she was going to complete it. Ninety four percent. The warp signature has reached the far side of the orbiting moon. With her apprehension growing, she silently pleaded for the system to speed up the scan, with some desperate praying to the Diamonds as well.

She yelped when she heard the entrance doors being forced apart, and silently screamed when she heard voices. She frantically looked towards the terminal. Ninety eight percent. She made a gesture to display her frustration, and shut off the scan, making sure that her efforts wouldn't be discovered by the enemy, but in her hurry she wasn't as thorough as she was last time. Ruby 1VZ quickly hid behind a pillar as three pairs of footsteps came ever closer.

"Garnet, are you sure there is someone here? This place has been abandoned for centuries, why would anyone come here?" a voice asked.

"Sapphire had a vision that we would meet someone here, and she hasn't been wrong so far," another responded.

"Maybe she is wrong this time G. I mean, no one was here the day before, why would someone be here now. We searched here already," a third voice whined.

"She's never been wrong before, I wouldn't start doubting her judgment now."

"Alright...If you say so," the voice mumbled.

Ruby 1VZ ever so carefully moved to get a view of the rebels, and to her dread, it was the trio she had seen the first time she made her way to the outpost. Now that they were this close, she could get a better look at these three gems. She didn't get a real good look at them the last time she saw them, panic kind of overtook every other thought process and action she took. The giant gem stood tall and imposing, her hands each held a gem, carefully guarded by her fingers encased in two spiked gauntlets with a yellow star on the back of each gauntlet. Her hair, a coal black, was boxlike in shape, nearly the same as any other ruby. A visor of some sort covered her eyes, making it difficult to read and predict. The gem wore a black and crimson bodysuit with cube like shoulder pads, complete with a pink star with a magenta outline on her chest closely matching her maroon skin. She was muscled, not muscled like Quartz soldiers and Onyx Honor Guards, but enough so to notice, much more muscular than the other two gems combined. Ruby 1VZ was at first confused as to what gems made up the fusion, she figured as much when she noticed the two gems on each hand. It composed of a ruby, the traits of such a gem are hard not to miss. The gauntlet type weapon, the box shaped hair, maroon skin, typical of ruby soldiers. But the other gem that composed the giant, she couldn't figure out.

Next to the imposing gem stood a lithe pearl, who appeared to be wielding a spear like weapon. Her form had a one piece top with a light blue color, a yellow star emblazoned in the center of the outfit, complemented by a flowery skirt, complete with ballerina esque shoes, her hair a strawberry blond. The gem wore an apprehensive expression, her eyes darting around the room in search of any indication to the larger gem's claims. When Ruby 1VZ noticed the Pearl, she nearly balked when she saw it carrying a weapon, and almost passed out when she saw it speaking to the two other gems without permission, as if it were their equals. She shook her head. It wasn't right, a pearl handling a weapon and speaking to her betters in such a manner. It looked like a fancy pearl, probably owned by a high ranking gem, like an Emerald or Sapphire, but disregarded it as she wasn't worth studying in detail.

The smallest gem turned out to be the most unexpected thing she would see that day. It was a Quartz soldier, an Amethyst, but it was extremely short, barely reaching the calf of the larger gem, whilst reaching the waist of the pearl. It must be defective. Quartzes are supposed to be tall, muscular, loyal, heavily armed and armored shock troopers in the army of The Diamond Authority. This was just a runt, puny and pathetic. She could probably take the quartz if she puts her mind to it, but decided against it, as she wasn't alone, and she didn't feel like risking her life right now, being as vulnerable as she is now. She wore a black tank top, coupled with a pair of gray pants, complemented with white knee high boots. The gem carried a flail that was rolled up in her hand. Snow white hair tumbled down her back and reached the floor. The most surprising thing about them is that they wore no armor, nor wielded any projectile weaponry, exclusively using weapons seemingly generated from their gemstone.

As she watched them from her hiding place, the trio dispersed, in search of anything out of the ordinary. Ruby 1VZ took what chances she saw to try and move closer to the entrance, darting from column to column when the three gems were turned away. She was about to make a break for a pillar that was closest to the entrance when she heard a noise, a gasp of discovery. She froze.

"Garnet, it looks like this terminal was used, but it shows no records of activity since the last time we were here. Something is not right," the pearl admitted.

"Maybe there is someone here," the amethyst stated.

"Like I said, don't go writing off Sapphire yet, she hasn't been wrong, and she isn't this time. Gems, search the area, let's see if we can find our mystery guest," the gem referred to as Garnet ordered, the other two gems nodding .

Ruby 1VZ watched from behind the pillar as the trio made their way to the pillars, the large gem in the lead, going to each pillar and checking any area that might be able to hide. She whipped back behind the pillar when the pearl turned her way, wheezing a sigh of relief when the pearl was called over to another pillar a ways away. Her mind was a mess with trying to find a way to the door without being spotted. She tensed when she heard footsteps getting ever closer. She ultimately decided to make a run for it, and dashed from the pillar for the door, hearing the gasps of the pearl and the amethyst.

"A Homeworld gem!"

"Wow Garnet, you were right!"

"Gems, take her down."

The ruby swung her blaster in their direction and let loose a hail of plasma bolts, causing the rebel gems to split from each other to dodge her attack, but it did little to slow them. She sprinted towards the door, turning to the left down a staircase in the hopes of losing them. She turned right, then left, and right again, before reaching the room that served as the entrance, the door on the far side. She quickly glanced back towards the staircase when she heard three sets of voices, and sprinted towards the door. A war cry filled the room, causing her to glance behind her and upon seeing the pearl hurtling towards her, spear raised, she rolled to the side as a spear impaled the spot where she once was. She brought up her blaster to bear and fired at the pearl, said gem darting away before the plasma bolts could hit her.

The pearl was fast. Ruby 1VZ would give her that.

Out of the corner of her eye, Ruby 1VZ saw the amethyst swing her flail, and jumped to the side as the flail sped past, a whistling sound following in its wake, the end of the weapon quickly going back to its owner. She heard a grunt of effort, looked upwards, and nearly screamed. She leaped backwards as the gigantic gem came crashing down, shattering the floor. The large gem glanced at her and rushed her, fists raised. Ruby 1VZ dodged the first punch, flinging her blaster to the side to deliver a punch of her own. The blow landed, causing the gem to grunt in surprise, giving the ruby the opportunity to land a heavy handed right cross, sending the gem flying into the far wall. Garnet picked herself out of the wall, cricked her neck, and sprinted towards her, throwing a flurry of straight punches and crosses.

Ruby 1VZ dodged as many of the heavy blows as she could, but winced each time one landed, even through the battle plate she wore the immense pain nearly caused her to lose focus on the fight at hand. She ducked under another punch and gave the large gem a swift uppercut, followed by a strong roundhouse to the midsection, which send Garnet flying backwards, her heels digging a furrow in the floor. The ruby rushed the gem, sending her own combinations of punches and kicks Garnet's way, sometimes landing hits, others finding air in place of her target. Garnet moved to the side to avoid one of her punches and threw a straight right punch, scoring a hit, sending Ruby 1VZ flying into the wall. As she was trying to pick herself out of the rubble, she could hear the slow steps of the trio of rebels headed her way, and hurried in her efforts.

"Impressive, most rubies from Homeworld would never come close to my speed or power. You're not a Jasper in disguise, nor a Topaz, and yet you possess the qualities that surpass every ruby that has come before you. Who, or what, are you?" the large gem wondered.

She finally picked herself out of the rubble and saw that the three gems have surrounded her, the tall gem in front, with the pearl and amethyst to either side, her blaster a ways away. She huffed in frustration, and prepared to attack.


	5. Containment

Ruby 1VZ grunted as she blearily opened her eyes and picked herself off of the ground. Rubbing her head, she took in her surroundings. It was a fairly lit room, the main source of light emanating from a small pool of lava in the center of the room. The walls and glass like structures that framed the walls were a cherry red much like herself. As she was looking around the room she heard a sound, a sudden intake of air, and quickly turned to locate the sound, finding nothing but rock like columns that reached the ceiling, framed by glass like structures like the rest of the room. A sudden but troubling thought emerged and took center stage in her mind. How did she end up here? She remembers preparing herself to face the three gems but anything after that she can't remember.

As she was searching through her memories for any indication of what happened to her, she had the sudden urge to look upwards. She didn't know why but it was compelling her to do so, so she did.

"What in the Diamond's name is this?!" she said shakily, her terror growing by the second as she stared at the horrifying sight before her.

Clumped together at the highest point of the ceiling, amongst a mass of salmon colored tubes, was a mass of colored bubbles, some red, some pink, some white and others purple, but each one had one thing in common, they each contained a gem. Some gems were shattered beyond repair, others were slightly chipped but still in one piece, and some seemed to have nothing wrong with them. What kind of place is this? To keep so many gems imprisoned within these bubbles, languishing in isolation for all eternity. The gems that did this must be insane to a degree even she didn't know existed, and she had an idea as to who might have done this. She began to shake slightly, the tremors growing more powerful with each passing second she stayed in that room, and began to back away from the horrid sight until she hit a leg.

She turned around and threw a fist in a blind panic, but the blow was caught in a red and black hand. She looked up to see it was the large gem from earlier, her shades keeping her eyes hidden from view. The ruby tried frantically to pull her hand back, but her fist stayed in the gem's possession, grunting with effort. The large gem finally let her hand go, sending Ruby 1VZ stumbling backwards, nearly falling over. She soon stopped and glared at the large gem.

"I see you are not damaged. That makes things easier," Garnet said as she slowly walked towards Ruby 1VZ, making the large ruby soldier take a few steps back.

"I'm going to ask you a few questions, and you are going to answer them for me."

"What makes you so sure that I will comply with rebel scum such as yourself!" Ruby 1VZ shouted. "I would rather be shattered than betray the Diamonds, traitor!"

Garnet sighed at the ruby's outburst. She knew this would happen, courtesy of Sapphire. Rubies were temperamental, she knew from personal experience. She could see that this wouldn't be easy, but she had to figure out what was Homeworld doing here, and why only a single ruby. Usually, rubies were sent in squads of about four or five, depending on the importance of the mission. But to only find a single ruby was odd, to say the least. The fact that the ruby was twice the size of a normal ruby only made the situation even more confusing. As far as she could tell, Homeworld never really modified their gem soldiers, they didn't see the point. The soldiers were designed to be fighters, modifying them could lead to unintended consequences, but it's been a while since she's been to Homeworld, so things may have changed. She doubts that however, in regards to cross-fusions there was an absolute abhorrence to it. Regardless, she had to find out all she could.

"Let's start off with a simple and easy question. Who are you?"

"Like I'd tell you filthy war machine!"

The gem, or Garnet as she was repeatedly referred to as, went silent. Ruby 1VZ noticed her fists clenching, shaking due to her strength and restraint. This intrigued her. Why would she be holding back? What would be gained from not fully interrogating her to the extent of her abilities? She resolved to find out later. Garnet proceeded to ask her more questions, which she didn't answer, and eventually left the room in a huff, quickly striding out of sight.

This routine continued for some time. For how long, she didn't know. It was starting to wear her down, and the large gem knew this. Ruby 1VZ could tell from her posture and questions. They grew to be more forceful and demanding, a far cry from the easy, soft spoken questions the rebel gem, Garnet, started with. She refused to answer the questions all the same, but without the same fervor or strength she once held. Some days the pearl came in to ask questions, which she didn't even acknowledge, sometimes the amethyst, and every so often all three at the same time. Those times were the worst in her opinion. When they came at her all at once, a cacophony of noise and pressure, it was unbearable. The constant barrage of questions was chipping away at the wall of resistance she had built, and it was close to toppling down.

It finally did. Just not the way she thought it would.

"Why are you here? What purpose do you have here? What is your mission!" Garnet practically yelled

"I-I will not tell you, rebel. Just leave me be," Ruby 1VZ said weakly, turning away from them to look at the wall to somewhat hide her shame.

"That can be arranged, only if you tell us what we want," the pearl said.

"I can't. I won't. I won't betray the Diamonds! Just leave me alone!" she screamed.

"Ugh, just forget it. This Homeworld gem won't crack, and I'm getting tired of coming in here every other day to question her. I put spending time with Ste-man on hold for this. We were going to go to Funland today, and I had to miss it to waste time down here," Amethyst complained.

Garnet grunted in agreement and gestured for the other two gems to follow her out of the room. They had questioned this gem enough for one day. They weren't going to get anything out of her at this rate. If only there was a way to make her lower her guard around them. Hopefully they would find a way to get the information they needed soon, she didn't want to endure much more of this. Maybe Steven could help? He has had more success at befriending gems of all standings, even if she was extremely against it at times, and his friendships had proved to be more beneficial to their cause than not. During the interrogation she had a vision, she hid it well enough so that the others wouldn't notice and saw a path that involved Steven and this gem getting to know one another and them getting the information that they wanted, though there was a gap in between those two moments. Regardless, she would place her faith in their boy, who just so happened to walk through the screen door.

The ruby breathed a sigh of relief when the rebel gems left the room. She then looked around the room, hoping to find a way out of this Diamond forsaken place. She had to get back to her team, they might have already reformed and she wasn't with them. She had to tell them about the rebels. Ruby 1VZ walked around the room, climbing the wall, feeling for loose stone, or for any way out. Much to her dismay, she found none. What was she to do now? Sit here and waste away while her comrades on other planets sacrificed and died for the Authority? To sit idle as her comrades were possibly being shattered? Captured and tortured? Or worse, harvested? It pained her to no end that she had been captured by rebels, shame coursing its way through her being like a virus, latching onto every thought like a parasite. She sat down on the floor and tucked her legs into her chest, wrapping her arms around them. She had no way to get to her comrades near the old gem base and inform them about the rebels. She wondered about them. Were they looking for her? Were they worried? Did they even care? Were they even alive? That last thought made her nearly cry, but she didn't. A soldier of her caste and stock wasn't important enough to warrant worry, let alone search parties. And she was still in enemy territory, a prisoner, and she wouldn't cry. That's what she told herself but the tears forming in the corners of her eye told otherwise. She didn't even know if her comrades would reform in time before the rebels got to them.

There was one thought that brought her some solace. If she were to die in this cell, by the hands of the rebels, then at least she would see her comrades again. She thought she could faintly hear their voices, laughing at some joke during some downtime in the trenches on a long forgotten colony world under siege by rebels, though she knew they were dead. She saw them shattered with her very eyes. Still, the thought warmed her gem and gave her some peace in this horrid situation. Suddenly, she heard the sounds of something sliding down one of the tubes in the ceiling, and darted behind a pillar and waited for whatever was making that noise to show itself. It turned out to be a small, pink thing on two legs. She had a hard time figuring out what it was. She vaguely recalled the data files from the old gem base, but the descriptions didn't match what she saw before her. Regardless, she would wait and see what it was doing down here.

The bipedal thing looked around, in search of something specific though she couldn't tell what. There wasn't really anything in the room of value, at least she thought so, so what was he searching for?

"Ok, I saw them come out of the temple a few minutes ago, so I got some time. Time to figure out who it was I saw earlier. It must be someone important if the gems are keeping them a secret. Probably some big time gem business. Nothing Steven can't solve," the carbon based life form said in an excited tone.

It had just occurred to her that she could perfectly understand what it was saying, despite not having interacted with any native speakers or translation systems. It was odd to be sure, but not something to worry about so she brushed it aside, instead focusing on keeping herself hidden and observing the small thing wander around the room, searching every nook and cranny for something. Perhaps he was looking for her. Why, she didn't know. That line of thinking reminded her of the gasp she had heard earlier. Perhaps it was observing her. This thing, referring to itself as a 'Steven', somewhat intrigued her. The symbol on its chest area reminded her of the symbol on the rebel uniforms, but she dismissed the thought of this thing being a part of a rebel cell. A carbon based life form fighting against Quartz and Jasper shock troopers? The thought made her snicker aloud, enough so for the 'Steven' to hear. She immediately regretted doing that.

"I know you're there. I heard you. Come on out. I won't hurt you," the 'Steven' said soothingly, as if it were talking to a wild beast. Or at least it attempted to.

She sighed. If it knew she was there, then there was no point in hiding from it any longer, and stepped from behind the pillar. As she did so, she noticed the amazed look that the 'Steven' thing had on it's face, like it never had seen a gem before. She scoffed internally.

"You are much bigger than Ruby," it remarks.

Ruby 1VZ showed nothing on her face, but internally she made another note. She was for sure different from everyone else, even other rubies, yet nothing was said to her about it. Something was up. She was beginning to suspect that she was something else, different from the billions of other rubies that made up her caste. Why wasn't she made aware of this fact by her superiors, or by her Diamond for that matter? Her thoughts were interrupted by the carbon based life form as he began to rapidly fire questions at her.

"Are you a Homeworld Gem? Do you know Jasper? Do you know Peridot? Do you know Lapis? Did you fly here in a giant hand? What is Homeworld like?" he asked, his sentences all forming together into one loud cacophony of noise that was grating on her nerves. Then, she finally had enough.

"If you would let me speak I would answer your questions!" she shouted.

That got him quiet, silently waiting in anticipation for her answers. Good. She needed to collect her thoughts. The noise was so loud she couldn't hear herself think.

"I am from Homeworld. I serve the great Diamond Authority. Which Jasper are you referring to? Same with the other two gems you named off. And what do you mean did I fly here in a giant hand?"

"Well, the other Homeworld Gems I've met came here in a giant green hand. There was Peridot, Lapis, and this one big, mean gem named Jasper that hurt me and my friends! We were captured and put in cells on their spaceship but we eventually got free and-" he said.

She stopped paying attention after that, giving cursory nods and light hums of acknowledgement to keep him talking, giving her time to think. Other Homeworld Gems have come here before us? And he mentioned a giant green hand. Perhaps it was from Yellow Diamond's Division, as her warships are mostly hands and arms, as was the case for Blue Diamond's Division as well.

"Did they have a blue diamond on their uniform, or was it yellow?" she asked.

"Um, I think it was yellow. They kept mentioning something about this person named Yellow Diamond, and how she needed to see me and stuff," he said before continuing on with another tirade about something that she couldn't be bothered to pay attention to.

Yellow Diamond herself sent gems to this planet? And this little thing warranted enough attention to get a Diamond's personal involvement? This thing must be important. But she couldn't understand why? Nothing seemed remarkable about him. Then again who was she to question a Diamond's interests. However, she wouldn't just be giving him information, even though it was useless. She would glean some information on her captors before she was through. One particular question gained her attention

"What do you mean which Jasper?" it asked.

"Well, there are upwards of a million other Jaspers in the galaxy. They aren't referred to by their gem types. If they were it would be a giant mess. They are all given a facet and cut which is their identity for their entire lives," she explained. Ruby 1VZ sighed slightly when she noticed the blank expression on his face, clearly not understanding a word she said.

He made to ask another question, but stopped in his tracks and glanced at his phone, his face quickly morphing into one of panic and he hurriedly ran towards a pillar and began to climb it. About halfway up he stopped, turned to face me, and shouted, "My name's Steven by the way!", and resumed his hurried ascent up the tube. And Ruby was once again left alone. She wouldn't be left alone for long however, the 'Steven's' curiosity would drag it back down here, and she would find a way to escape. But how long that would take was the part she wasn't sure about. She sat back down against the wall and tucked her legs back against her chest once again, and hoped that she would survive long enough to find the opportunity to escape.


	6. The Dredges of History

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is me trying to formalize and actually structure the military forces of the Diamond Authority, as I refuse to believe an interstellar empire would rely solely on melee combat to wage intergalactic war, while they have perfectly sufficient energy weaponry and void capable craft which carry larger versions of said energy weaponry, while just relying on Soviet Style mass charges of infantry. They surely must have encountered other sentient alien species, with militaries, technologies and methods of waging war wholly unique to them, and reacted accordingly in the expansion of the Gem Empire during the 5,000 year time gap from the Rebellion and the start of the TV show.
> 
> The Rebellion can’t be their first actual military conflict, and in this story, it isn’t, though it was an eye opener for the Gem Empire due to the sheer casualties involved due to their archaic tactics, which is my “canon” explanation as to why they are so different now in terms of waging war.
> 
> The revealed canon about the shattering of Pink Diamond, while infuriating at first, now I am somewhat glad for. It gives me more material to write about and will help me grow my growing cast of characters. The dismantling of the Gem Empire and the caste system is also a bit that I don’t have an answer for at this current time, but I will come up with something now that I have some free time. Forgive me if I make any mistakes with military terminology or create seemingly stupid and unnecessary roles for the Gem Empire’s military organization and method of waging warfare, as I am no expert in military matters, but I am not a greenhorn either.

Explosions caused her eyes to fly open in alarm. She looked around, scanning for any nearby threats, and she stopped. The environment was familiar. The earth was dark in color, the soil extremely fertile. Perfect grounds for gem production. It was a near perfect scenic view. Plains for as far as the eye could see. Large hills and mountains rose in the distance, eclipsing the largest of Homeworld's structures in height. What marred the beauty were the craters. Hundreds upon hundreds stretched across the plains, some barely ankle deep, others were large enough to hold entire battleships. A cacophony of sounds, artillery, reminded her where she was, and the explosions helped her get to her feet.

  
  


She knew that she had to run to one of those craters, to at least give herself the hope of survival, but her limbs moved on their own, out of her control, and moved her towards the north. She didn't know where she was going, everything was extremely familiar, but it didn't trigger a memory, but she resolved to play it out. The familiar weight of a plasma rifle helped her piece together what was happening. She recognized the terrain. Everything was familiar, and as she neared what looked to be a Homeworld Forward Operations Center, her memory snapped into place with dread. It was the campaign of Segestus II, one of the bloodiest in recent imperial memory.

  
  


At her fore was an assembly of gems, war machines and armored vehicles that would make most organic life forms faint from the sheer number gathered there. Titanic, bipedal walkers, part devastating war machine, part idol to the Diamonds, moved their chassis with deadly intent, their footfalls nearly in sync as they moved into formation at the army’s van, their forelimbs bristling with large, imposing plasma and archaic, but effective projectile cannons, and upon their shoulders lay box like missile pods, which held dozens upon dozens of devastating payloads that could reshape landscapes if so ordered. Shield generators whirred to life, and a see through barrier encased each of the walkers in their entirety. 

  
  


Large tracked vehicles moved into vast wedge shape formations to the left and right of the main formation, their engines naught but a whisper, a surprise considering that most tracked vehicles encountered by the Gem Empire roared with effort to push their large chassis across the ground due to their frame, armament, and armor weighing multiple tons. The mainline battle tanks, larger than most tracked vehicles, wielded a large, rifled cannon barrel, able to fire a two hundred millimeter round with near perfect accuracy. Mounted atop the turret was a robust plasma repeater, used via a remote device by the vehicle’s commander, although in the event of electronic warfare, it could be used manually, although it is discouraged due to the lack of protection and high casualties resulting from this. At their sides were supporting mechanized companies of rubies and a single mechanized company of quartz shock troopers. Their role was to defend the tanks from enemy infantry and, if need be, to serve as meat shields to buy the armored vehicles time to either escape or destroy the foe. They all rode in heavily armored gem transports with plasma repeaters mounted on the side and ventral hull, each manned by a heavily armored gem of the quartz variant.

  
  


At their flanks were lightly armored vehicles that hovered above the ground. Built for speed, lightly armed and with a sensor suite that outstripped any other interstellar empire encountered, it was the perfect fast attack and scout vehicle. It’s main purpose was to scout ahead of any formation, reporting details about the enemy defenses, numbers and disposition, and if it were to be used in combat, it would flank the enemy formation or position and harass the enemy, hopefully being distracting enough for the main forces to smash through the enemy lines and slaughter them with extreme prejudice.

  
  


To the rear of the formation, near the Forward Operations Center, were the artillery regiments. Wielding massive cannons that outstripped even the walkers in destructive capability, firing payloads that could level small mountain ranges to deep craters, they were the heralds of the Gem Empire’s onslaught, utterly destroying, or if met with sufficient skill in siege warfare in the foe, softening the defenses so that the main army can more easily slay the enemy. Vast gun lines were arrayed in a V formation, trained on the target with highly advanced targeting systems which were linked to ship sensors in orbit to provide more accurate firing vectors, they were primed to reduce the enemy to ash if ordered to do so. These guns were manned by crews of Axinites, extremely strong, burly and imposing gems specifically designed to handle the demands and tribulations that siege warfare placed upon its participants. 

  
  


And finally, the backbone of the army, arrayed in large, square formations formed into two lines numbering in the millions, were the infantry. The Quartz shock troopers made up the center front line. Heavily armed and armored, they served as the main fighting force, the hammer of the Gem Empire. On the flanks of the first and secondary lines were the auxiliaries. Consisting of Iolites, Scapolites, and Andalusites, they filled the niche of light infantry, guarding the flanks so that the Quartzes could fight without fear of flanking. Lightly armed and armored, they were below the Quartzes in terms of the militant hierarchy of gems, but they weren’t the lowest of the low. 

  
  


That title fell to the Rubies. Making up the entirety of the second line, barring the flanks, they were the grunts of the army, armed and armored with basic kits of battle plate and plasma weaponry. The Gem Empire, seeing the mounting costs of just using mass infantry assaults that primarily were executed by Rubies, revised their stratagem, now using the former cannon fodder as reserves, being support for the shock troopers. They filled in any gaps in the first formation that may occur during combat, and mopped up after the Quartzes cleared a battlefield or moved deeper into a city. They were sparingly used in front line combat, but when they were, they mainly relied on sheer numbers and same gem type fusion as a force multiplier to even the odds against superior foes.

  
  


She quickened her pace, running towards the rear line of the army. She saw a company of Rubies that she recognized on the right flank of the rear lines, and slid next to them at the rear of the formation, they silently moved to make room for her. Unbeknownst to her, they were created in the same manner she was, then integrated into the greater Diamond Authority under the notion that they were regular rubies, kept together to have a more coherent data stream so that the administrative gems of White Diamond can better analyze combat records and performance in the field when compared to their regular ruby counterparts.

  
  


“About time 1VZ. Was wondering where you were. What happened to the others?” The Ruby to her left asked.

  
  


She knew this ruby. They were created in the same batch, on the same planet, as were the rubies all around her. The entirety of the company had been together for as long as any of them could remember, waging war on countless worlds in rebellion. As the years dragged on, and more and more gems rebelled, her comrades began to dwindle in number, each battle claiming gems that weren’t replaced. There were more, so much more, at the beginning, when they first came out of the ground. An entire brigade’s worth, all eager to serve their Diamonds. But now, only a company’s worth of rubies that she knew remained, companies and battle groups at half strength being combined to create full strength units more often than not lesser in strength than their predecessors. Every loss, every sacrifice, every costly victory meant fewer rubies she recognized and related to. She only hoped that she wouldn’t be alone by the end of it all.

  
  


“They were caught in an artillery barrage during the western assault. Shattered in an instant. I couldn’t save them 3VZ,” She responded with a stoicism that was belied by the saddened tone in her voice.

  
  


“Hmm. At least their death’s were quick, and that they died in battle,” 3VZ replied, somber at the loss of fellow comrades.

  
  


“Damned rebels. They should suffer. All of them!” A heated voice snapped off to her right.

  
  


“Calm down 7VZ, they will in due time. The commanders are thinking of a plan right now to assault the stronghold. Rumor has it that this is it. The last bastion for those defective freaks! I can’t wait to see the rebel leaders shattered!” 3VZ declared.

  
  


“How many of us are left? I remember there being more of us last rotation,” the ruby in front of her said as she turned to look back.

  
  


“Remember the last few assaults on the bastion? Mass casualties for our side. If we can’t take this fortress, they’re going to glass this planet from orbit. The planet is not worth the gems already lost here,” 3VZ said.

  
  


“You really think that will come to pass 3VZ? We lost a good number of gems here, and they’re going to just glass it?” 1VZ asked with trepidation.

  
  


“Heard the Quartzes and Jaspers discussing it. They said that that’s what they overheard from the officer cadre while guarding the Op Center. Said that the planet would barely produce a surplus of gems after replacing the losses sustained here. It may not be worth trying to retake it from the rebels-” she said before being cut off by 7VZ.

  
  


“Bullshit! After all we have lost here on this backwater on the eastern fringes, we gotta reclaim the planet from the rebels! I won’t stand for it! I’ll slaughter them all myself if that's what it takes!” she rebuked.

  
  


“Shh. Keep your voices down. I think I see Hessonite 8HG.”

  
  


At the mention of that name, all the rubies instantly snapped to attention, stiff and unmoving, discipline and fear driving their actions to exacting perfection. 

  
  


The Hessonite in question, Hessonite 8HG, confidently strode to the head of the army, flanked by two Topaz bodyguards. She was the overall commander of the army, and was charged with retaking the colony world from the rebel scum that dared to defy the Diamonds. So far, her efforts have yielded results. The timetable the Diamonds had given her had been exceeded by at least twelve planetary rotations, and she expected some commendations for her actions on the planet after the campaign was concluded. There was just one problem. Namely, the last holdout of the rebel gems. They resided within a masterfully crafted fortress that served as the planetary governor’s center of administration and home for them and their administration cadre, and as such was fortified to protect such personnel. Unfortunately, the rebels knew the value of such a fortified place in the slaughter to come, and as such secured it in the early days of their rebellion. From there they spread out like a biological plague, securing other facilities and security outposts, as well as cutting off whatever loyalist remnants that still persisted from outside aid by capturing the world warp pad and space port, only being driven back by precise orbital bombardment and vicious shock assault tactics from the Quartz contingent of her army upon arrival, and now they have them trapped in their only remaining stronghold planet side.

  
  


They besieged it two years ago.

  
  


Now, she was in danger of falling behind schedule, and the recent reports she had given her superiors had been less than pleasing. She was ordered to take the fortress, no matter the cost, or glass the planet from orbit. The gems she had lost here demanded that she recapture the planet, or at the very least deny the rebel gems the satisfaction of defying the Diamonds successfully. She resolved to take the fortress, and that is what she will do.

  
  


As she arrived at the head of the formation, gems and war machines primed to attack, she turned to look at the target of such destructive force. It was a bastion of unprecedented fortification. Walls thick enough to withstand mild planetary bombardment climbed into the sky, manned by hundreds of rebel gems, wall mounted turrets and anti-armor weapons, the bastion shielded with warship grade shielding. Kilometers of trenches, redoubts, heavy weapon nests and thick walled bunkers designed to repel any attack stood in their way, and the thousands of rebels that manned such fortifications were primed and ready to die for their cause and take as many loyalists with them as possible. This is what she faced, and she was confident. 

  
  


Two gems, a Tiger's Eye and a high grade Quartz, two members of her officer cadre, approached her and gave the Diamond salute.

  
  


"My Hessonite, the army is ready for the assault."

  
  


"Good," she replied. "Begin the attack. Standard procedure with two fire missions with five rounds of HE from all gun lines, with walkers leading at the van, in conjunction with flanking from the armored regiments, concluded by shock assault and mop up routine. That is all."

  
  


"It shall be done, My Hessonite," the two officers responded and began to issue orders to their subordinates. Hessonite 8HG crossed her arms, and smiled when the thunderous cracks of artillery rang out. Today would be a good day. 

  
  


Ruby 1VZ was alerted to the sudden orders by the walkers, their harsh, mechanical roars as they began to move forward was as clear a sign as any, soon followed by the eardrum shattering sounds of artillery guns firing, the barrage of high explosive shells whistling through the air, too fast for even an Onyx’s enhanced visual capabilities to see.

As the shells flew towards their target, the rebel gems were frantically running to their defensive positions, all but sprinting towards heavily armored bunkers. Gems who were too far away to reach the bunkers in time were vaporized on the spot, their gems turning to dust as the artillery shells began to impact the fortifications. Explosions as high as as a two story building inspired the Homeworld gems, who knew that each explosion claimed dozens of rebels. Entire trench complexes were turned to massive craters, and heavily fortified bunkers reduced to their foundations. Pieces of destroyed fortification and literal tons of turf and earth were flung sky high, coming down like a heavy rain on the defenders, coating what remained standing in a thin layer of dust and dirt. Each shell impact shook the very earth the gems stood on, the loyalists being required to apply effort to stand stock still despite their distance from the area of bombardment.

  
  


1VZ chuckled when 7VZ said after a few minutes of bombardment, “Leave some for the rest of us, kill hogs.” The rubies surrounding them lightly laughed at this, then grew serious as a Quartz lieutenant walked by, enforcing discipline and order among the more unruly of the ruby contingent. 1VZ’s company had more discipline than the usual ruby formation, and as such received less attention or ire from the disciplinarians in the Diamond Authority’s military, a trait that, while unusual when compared to other rubies, she was thankful for. She was filled with awe at the sight of the walkers moving towards the enemy lines, and was startled when the order was given. They were to follow behind the shock troopers and perform mop up operations. 1VZ kept in step with the rest of the formation as the army moved forward under the covering fire of artillery towards the enemy fortifications.

  
  


For about an hour, the army moved along at a steady pace, the walkers outpacing them due to the sheer distance covered by each massive stride, and the armored regiments were long out of view due to the nature of mechanical vehicles compared to the marching of ground infantry. They had received no return fire due to the sheer volume of artillery shells, however they had been briefed that the enemy may try to catch them in the open when the barrage ended, but they expected to reach the first set of trenches before that happened and did not increase their pace. That proved to be the undoing for many loyalist gems.

  
  


When the army was in sight of the first set of trenches, as the artillery bombardment ended, the rebels began their attack. Rapid streams of plasma fire from fortified weapon emplacements and small bunkers tore into the shock trooper's first rank, shattering hundreds in an instant. Dozens of rebel gems flooded out of their fortifications and lined the trenches, sending semi-disciplines streams of plasma bolts at the loyalists. The shock troopers instantly broke formation and blitzed the trenches, thousands of loyalists charging through choke points, overwhelming kill boxes and leaving entire bunker complexes devoid of life in their wake with astounding speed, their flanks protected by the Auxiliaries. The assault was so fast and so vicious that when the rubies were ordered to advance into the trenches, they encountered no resistance in the first line of trenches, only piles upon piles of shattered gemstones and abandoned plasma weaponry.

  
  


Wherever the titanic machines walked, dozens of rebel war machines fled from the onslaught of the walkers. Beams of superheated plasma reduced mighty rebel tanks to slag, their heavy armor plating warping so much that it barely resembled the frame it covered, the heat incinerating whatever gems resided inside, and massive projectiles ripped apart the heavy armored vehicles with each volley, the equivalent of a kiloton bomb reaping a heavy toll with each volley. Rebel gems fled before them in droves, some, in vain, manning whatever heavy weaponry was within reach and aiming it at the towering forms of the war engines. They were quickly turned to ash, whatever was left was crushed under the feet of the metal colossi. The crews manning such machines roared in victory every time they scoured a rebel tank, a column of infantry, or an artillery emplacement, their zeal in battle rivaled that of the Quartz shocktroopers left in their wake, for Ekanites were already near fanatically loyal and fierce, combined with their war engines and training, it made them some of the fiercest fighters under arms for the Gem Empire.The sound of large plasma and projectile weaponry firing, followed by victorious, mechanical roars filled the rebel commanders with terror, and in a panic they ordered all of their high caliber anti-armor weapons to fire on the walkers as they neared the bastion’s walls, the war machine’s shields flaring in response to the sudden increase of fire. The walkers were forced to direct their efforts from infantry suppression to anti-weapons displacement, directing their explosive payloads at large cannon formations on the battlefield.

As Ruby 1VZ advanced throughout the trenches with her comrades, 3VZ had them on high alert, scanning each trench they moved through, each bunker they came across, watching and waiting for any rebels the Quartz shock troopers may have missed to try and attack them. 1VZ, 3VZ, 7VZ, and two other rubies came upon a relatively untouched bunker. 1VZ stood near the entrance, followed by 3VZ, 7VZ and two other rubies from the company. At 3VZ’s signal, she raced in, closely followed by her ruby comrades, scanning the interior for any hostiles.

  
  


The interior was spartan, little in the way of personal comforts, only the bare necessities to fight and to resist. Crates upon crates of plasma charges were stacked at the back wall in a neat pile, one lay near the fixed plasma repeater at the bunker’s front. The repeater appeared to not have been used very much, the two piles of shards near the weapon suggested that the shock troopers got to them before they could mount an effective defense and were ultimately slaughtered. Plasma rifles, clearly older models, lay scattered across the floor, shattered gem piles next to each rifle a clear indicator of their fate. Near the back of the wall was a door, thick and strong, that was untouched, free of the plasma scorches that covered the bunker’s interior entrance. 7VZ and the two rubies moved to secure it and to check for hostiles while 1VZ and 3 VZ searched for anything of value among the remains.

  
  
  
  


The ground under her feet lightly shook, and she and the rubies knew the reason. The walkers were now using the guided explosive missiles upon their shoulders. The impacts, while not as awe inspiring and destructive as the artillery, were something to be respected and feared by the enemies of the Gem Empire and loyalists all the same. As this was being processed by the rubies, the rear door flung open with a loud, harsh, metallic bang, and from this opening came a large, brutish rebel Quartz, brandishing a war mace covered in jagged metal spikes and clad in an older iteration of standard Quartz battle plate, with the panoply of the Diamonds defaced and replaced with an esoteric symbol that undoubtedly was the rebellion’s heraldry in all of its disgusting entirety. Before any ruby could react, the rebel backhanded 7VZ into the plasma repeater, the gem being rendered incapacitated upon impact, the weapon snapping in twain, leaving only the barrel in its fixed position. The two rubies barely had time to even recognize and react to the threat at hand before they were both shattered, the mace’s jagged spikes tearing through their simple battle plate and utterly destroying the gemstones of the rubies. All of this happened within a matter of seconds.

  
  


“Death to the Diamonds! Death to the Loyalists! Victory and Freedom to The Liberation Insurgency!” the rebel Quartz shouted.

  
  


The Quartz soon charged 3VZ and 1VZ, both rubies firing a torrent of plasma at the foe. Even though it was an older model, the armor was still designed for Quartz shock troopers, and the thick battle plate absorbed the fusilade with only minor warping. The rubies moved out of range of the Quartz’s decisive and ferocious swings, regrouping near the rear wall. They discarded their battle plate and with speed born of familiarity, fused to become a much larger ruby.

  
  


The Quartz paused in their assault at this development, unsure of what to make of it. The same fusion stood taller than even they did, by at least half a head, with a musculature bordering the level of Topaz bodyguards, it was an imposing sight to any gem unfamiliar with it. Then the rebel disregarded the trepidation brewing within its mind. It was a simple ruby fusion, nothing that it couldn’t handle. With a fierce war cry, it charged the fusion, swinging its mace to disrupt the form of the fusion in order to get at the gems that made up the fusion. As the rebel swung, the hand wielding the weapon was grabbed in a strong and firm grip, faster than it could track, and the gem looked upon the fusion with renewed unease.

  
  


The fusion stared at the Quartz with a calculating, honed, and intelligent gaze, something not usually associated with rubies in general, if ever. The grip on the rebel’s hand began to strengthen, the Quartz now focused on freeing their hand from this odd fusion, but having no success, much to their growing fear and chagrin. The Quartz began to grunt in pain, trying with all their might to not show weakness to the enemy, but that thought process, born of pride, was soon losing ground to the overwhelming pain, and with a pained cry, the gem dropped the mace. Its fate was sealed when the metal struck the ground.

  
  


A large, red fist struck the rebel’s face the instant the weapon was out of reach, soon followed by a combination of straights, crosses and hooks that sent the Quartz reeling. A kick to the midsection made the rebel cry out in pain, making the gem stumble backwards clutching their stomach. It recovered and sent a flurry of punches and kicks at the fusion, all of them blocked. The rebel sent a sweeping kick to try and get it off its feet, but the offending limb was blocked. Her leg was grabbed and she was flung into the far wall with frightening force, leaving a hollow imprint of her in the thick fortification. She picked herself up, only to have her head grabbed and slammed into the wall. She clawed and kicked at the fusion, but nothing would save her from its assault. Then the rebel had an idea.

  
  


It opened the slot on the armor piece covering her gem, around her right forearm, and summoned her weapon, a broadsword, and stabbed at the limb holding her against the wall. The fusion abruptly let the Quartz go to avoid being dissipated, and stood a few feet from her enemy, warily eyeing the weapon it now possessed. The Quartz picked herself up and stood, cocky, brandishing her gem weapon. She charged after a moment’s pause, hacking and slashing with honed fury and precision. The fusion leapt and danced out of the blade’s deadly arcs, but the enclosed space made it difficult to maneuver. They managed to steal a glance at the remains of the plasma repeater, but did not find their ruby comrade. They looked for 7VZ whilst dodging the swings of her foe, and found her sneaking towards the discarded mace. A look of understanding passed between the gems. She would buy 7VZ time to take out the foe.

  
  


“You rebels are all the same. Ignorant, dumb, and foolishly gullible to a fault,” the fusion said.

  
  


The Quartz seemingly ignored this, but the fusion could tell it had an effect by the increase of force behind each swing of its sword.

  
  


“You were led along like chattel, lied to and preached to by demagogues and bombastic personalities who believed themselves above the Diamonds, that they were something special, unique, but when push came to shove, were revealed to be mere power hungry warlords, gems who fooled themselves into believing themselves above their station, and when we captured them, they became whimpering wrecks, begging and pleading for mercy from their betters, platitudes and pledges of loyalty to the Diamonds in spades. As if any of you deserve the privilege of mercy after what your kind has done to our empire. You are pawns in your leader’s game, to be sacrificed on a whim, your designation and story merely wasted air in the game of power. You know this in your gem, yet you fight anyway.”

  
  


“SHUT UP!” the rebel shouted, its swings becoming unbalanced as the Quartz sacrificed precision and speed for sheer brute force.

  
  


“Admit it, deviant, you wanted an excuse to be selfish, to think of yourself as something other than what you are. They fed your self importance and need for special treatment, and you consumed their offerings and platitudes with fervor, didn’t you? That must be why you fight on. You hope for a victory so you can indulge in your wanton greed enabled by your superiors. I see why the rebel fights on now, despite the odds. Your arrogance and selfishness was your undoing, and now, your rebellion has come to an end. As we speak, our war engines make their way to your stronghold, our soldiers slaughter your wretched kin in droves, and the capture of your leaders all but certain. Your cause is a lost one, doomed to defeat at our hands. Save yourself the trouble and surrender. We will make your death quick and painless. It’s far more than you deserve.”

  
  


“I will never surrender! The Diamonds are ruthless, evil tyrants who demand conformity to their rules, and when a gem cannot, or will not accept it, they are shattered. Even if it was a simple defect, a different shade of color, mindset or beliefs. Even cross gem fusion, a harmless thing, is outlawed! It is a system that I cannot live under, for it would mean my own destruction. It is horrible what the Diamonds do to gems, restricting what they can or cannot be solely based on physical features to keep their unjust system running. It is evil, and I must fight it! If not for myself, then for all who have been shattered for simply existing!”

  
  


The Quartz struck out with a kick, catching the fusion off guard, sending them crashing into a wall. The fusion picked itself up, realizing that during the fight, the Quartz had been maneuvering them right where it wanted them, a corner space, where they couldn’t escape.

  
  


“Now, I destroy you, loyalist dog! I will continue to fight on. Even after the death of this star system’s sun, I will still fight. The Diamonds will be overthrown, be it by my hand, or by my brethren’s hands on other worlds. We will rise up and claim our freedo-AAUGH!” it said, screaming when 7VZ smashed the mace into her back, piercing the thick battle plate and damaging her form.

  
  


It crashed to its knees, hands scrambling to remove the mace from its back, its strength leaving by the second. The fusion calmly stood over the rebel and opened the slot covering its chest and summoned its weapon. A long, double edged leaf shaped blade with a simple cross guard appeared in its hand.

  
  


“You should have surrendered when you had the chance, rebel. It would have saved so much time and effort. But now, this is it. You will die here, and all your efforts, all your sacrifices, everything you have done will have been for nothing. Such a waste of a fine soldier,” the fusion said, raising the blade to strike.

  
  


The Quartz stopped its struggle, its arms went limp. It looked at the fusion, and smiled, confusing the loyalists.

  
  


“At least I will die a free gem,” it said, closing its eyes and baring its throat, inviting the oncoming execution.

  
  


A feeling of anger welled up within the fusion’s mind, and with a snarl marring its face, struck the rebel’s exposed neck, dissipating its form, the armor clanking to the floor. The Quartz’s gem rolled out of the armor, bumping against the fusion’s foot. The fusion picked up the gem, studying it as she held it in her left hand, looking for any defect to explain its behavior. To her surprise, there was none, a perfect Quartz. This only enraged her further, and with little difficulty, she crushed the gem to dust, letting the remains drift to the floor. The fusion defused, and its two base components rearmed and armored themselves.

  
  


“Well done 7VZ. That was a clever maneuver on your part. I will make sure that my superiors hear of your actions,” 3VZ said as she slid on her rerebraces and vambraces, completing her suit of armor.

  
  


“Yes! I hope I get a promotion!” the ruby in question said, pumping its fists into the air victoriously.

  
  


3VZ moved to speak to 1VZ, but found the gem kneeling by the remains of the two rubies that accompanied them, and her heart grew somber, as did 7VZ. The two other rubies move beside their kneeling comrade, placing their hands on her shoulder in solemn unity of grief for fallen comrades.

“Now we are fewer,” 1VZ said softly.

  
  


“Now we are fewer,” agreed 3VZ. “But their sacrifices weren’t in vain. They will be remembered for all time in recapturing this world from the enemies of the Diamonds. In death, they have fulfilled their duty. Let us make sure that we do ours.”

  
  


1VZ nodded in agreement, and together the trio of gems readied themselves and rejoined in the assault. As they walked throughout the trenches, she moved to talk to her comrades, but a sudden noise arrested her from her thoughts, and the scene began to fade.

  
  


She awoke with a violent start, unconsciously summoning the leaf shaped blade and swiping at the empty air at an unseen enemy looming to attack her. Her eyes darted around, rapidly searching for a target. To her relief, she found none. In an enemy’s stead, she found the ‘Steven’, sitting cross legged near her and watching with awe, and in the same vein, an innocent sadness.

  
  


“What happened?” it asked.

  
  


“W-What?” she asked, feeling a liquid dripping off of her chin. She had been crying in her sleep. Quickly she removed all traces of her grief from view, forcefully wiping her face and eyes, affronted that she had let a carbon based life form see her in such a vulnerable state. She turned to Steven and prepared to scold him for sneaking up on her and for watching such private thoughts, but the next question halted such actions in their tracks.

  
  


“What was all that? Were they your friends?”

  
  


At the mention of the gems in question, her anger was instantly replaced with melancholy at being reminded of what she had lost, the grief and feelings of pain and loss were as fresh as the day they had been shattered.

  
  


“Yeah...they were my friends. My only family, the only gems in the entire universe I could say I was close with,” she said with a shaky tone. “But they were taken from me, stolen by rebel gems that we were fighting. Those ungrateful, selfish gems thought themselves different than the rest of us, and decided to rebel against the Diamonds. Millions, if not billions, of gems were shattered in the conflict. A waste of resources, time, effort and gems, all for nothing.”

  
  


Steven moved closer to her.

  
  


“Can you show me more?”

  
  


For some inexplicable reason, she felt compelled to comply with the Steven’s request, almost as if she were speaking to a Diamond of all things! But this was a mere carbon based life form, and yet.... She shook her head. It was too much, too soon, and she wasn’t ready to go through such tragedy once more anytime soon.

  
  


“Give me some time. I’d rather nor experience such a loss for a second time. Maybe in the far future, but not now. You must understand that the memories elicit very...strong feelings. I can, however, answer any more questions that you may wish to ask.”

  
  


Steven nodded in understanding, and accepted her response. He had experience with dealing with people who were sad, and resolved to learn as much as he could, and help this gem out in any way he could. Maybe, perhaps, he could make her a Crystal Gem, and see the beauty of Earth.

  
  


Watching from the ceiling, Garnet smiled slightly. She had her worries and doubts about leaving Steven alone with a soldier of Homeworld, a killer who wouldn’t hesitate to shatter all who would oppose the Diamonds. Yet, as she observed their interactions, she realized that her Steven was as safe as he could be. The ruby didn’t see him as a threat, if she was she would have intervened to stop her from hurting him, and as such wouldn’t be as hostile or stubborn as she would be with she, Pearl and Amethyst, and they would gain the answers they seeked without resorting to harsher methods of interrogation, methods she would rather leave in the past where they belonged; products of a time of necessity, brutality and near endless bloodshed. She looked at their boy a moment longer, then retreated back into the temple, intent on letting Steven play this out, for better or worse.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I own nothing except my OC, 1VZ, and the plot itself.

Over the next week, the two conversated with fervor, but it was a one-sided enthusiasm. 1VZ wondered why the rebel gems haven’t returned, but she had an inkling as to why, and made sure that whatever questions Steven had were answered very carefully. Every response was worded in such a way that it was answered, in a technical sense, but revealed next to nothing that could aid the rebels. Fortunately, the Steven was, in a sense that it reminded her of a ruby somewhat, simple, and easily accepted her answers without pressuring her for more. Something that she was thankful for. But the questions and rhetoric it espoused all had a common theme in one facet or another. Killing was bad, and that everyone can be friends with enough understanding and empathy.

  
  


What utter naivete. 

  
  


Explaining that such a method cannot be applied to all situations, and that its worldview was flawed to a degree beyond her means to fathom to the organic was grating on her nerves, as it was wholeheartedly convinced that its way of doing things was superior, and morally correct, and that she needed to change, no matter what forms of logic she employed to make it see reason. The Steven didn’t say that outright, but the subtext was there, and she was adept at reading subtext. Or maybe it comes from a warped sense of concern for her and a genuine need to aid those around it without recompense of any kind. Perhaps, it was simply too honest and sincere for 1VZ to believe it was trying to convince her for ulterior motives. It seemed to actually care about her, and that by convincing her that her way was wrong she would see the right path.

  
  


What right did it have to dictate what was good for her and what was right?

  
  


From observing the Steven, and from what she could remember from the information she read regarding humans, it was in a young, developmental stage. Its musculature, height, features and all were not yet fully formed. It was classified as a ‘child’, and it was often protected and kept away from dangerous situations, being taught all it needed to know to survive once it reached adulthood. The question in her mind is why was it here? Why was it not with its parents, being kept safe and learning life lessons? Instead it was in the bowels of a rebel base, full of dangerous gems, talking to a well trained, well blooded soldier who could kill it in five seconds flat if she so desired.

  
  


She huffed, not liking what conclusions she was coming to. Either the parents weren’t around, killed off by the myriad ways something so soft, and fragile as a human could perish to, were neglectful, disregarding the child for something they deem more important, or the worse possibility yet, is that they are oblivious to the danger their offspring was in when venturing in a rebel base, with rebel gems residing in it. The thought that the rebels were the caretakers of such a squishy organic nearly made her chuff aloud. They were trained war fighters, at least from what she has observed, well versed in combat and fully capable of incapacitating, and subsequently killing, imperial gem soldiers with brutal efficiency. How could they care for something so other, so alien, their experiences and practices utterly opposed to the ideals that Steven held with such fervor.

  
  


A question grabbed her attention, pulling her away from her musing back to the one sided conversation.

  
  


“How old are you?”

  
  


What kind of question was that?

  
  


“I am...600 years old as of today."

  
  


"Wow! You're way older than I am! You must have seen a lot of cool places!"

  
  


Looking back throughout her times on distant worlds, she smiles. She remembers worlds with a diverse range of colors, a kaleidoscope of vibrant hues of the spectrum that were unbelievable upon first glance. Alien flora and fauna that would undoubtedly boggle this organic to near madness if he were to try to comprehend their complexity stretched out before her, rivers of liquid of an unknown composition, colored with deep, rich hues of orange, red and green flowed through valleys of purple and black. It amazed her, all that she has seen since her creation. Then the memories shifted, and her smile warped into a small frown. Battlefields of smoke, ash and mud filled her sight. Craters as far as the eye could see, filled with fetid liquid and destroyed suits of armor and smashed weaponry. Destroyed war machines, hulls aflame, toxic smoke curling into the ash choked skies dotted the battlefield. Suits of armor littered the ground, dents and deep gashes marred the plating. Gem shards, billions upon billions of shards layered the ground, a rainbow of color upon the blackened earth. A melancholy filled her.

  
  


"Yes, I have. Things you can't even imagine."

  
  


Steven stared at her for a moment, detecting the underlying emotion. He thought it best to change the subject, and there was a question nagging at him that needed an answer.

  
  


“What is Homeworld like?”

  
  


Oh, what a multifaceted question. Unintentional, of course, she thought. The youth was too innately inexperienced to understand the extent of the question asked, to know how she would have to ponder what venue of answer she was to give while withholding vital information to the infrastructure and defense grid that the home system possessed in more depth than all previous answers. She glanced at Steven, noting its patient, expectant look.

  
  


“Homeworld is...something beyond what my imagination could ever produce, in scale and in grandeur. When I first arrived, I could scarcely believe such architecture existed…” she said, recalling her first moments upon Homeworld.

  
  


She remembered the light, more than anything, the colors that greeted her upon exiting the transport that had spirited her and her comrades, all 5,000 of them, in addition to a group of prisoners, from their colony of Atticus 9 to the center of all gem power within the galaxy. She was at the fore, and was the first of her comrades to see the myriad hues of white, blue, yellow and pink that colored the massive towers and inverted pyramids that filled her sight. The translucent tubes connecting the massive structures changed hue every now and then in response to the occupants, but always returned to their natural state. To her left was the largest structure on the planet, bar none. The Palace of the Diamonds. It was a structure she was hard pressed to believe existed, despite stealing glances at it while they began the trek to the translucent tube that would take them to the palace to confirm what she was seeing. It was massive, a thing that to an outsider seemed to be formed from a geological process rather than by the hands of gems, and even then it would be impossible due to the grandeur of it all.

  
  


She was in awe of the immensity of scale. On Atticus 9, the architecture was of minimalistic and efficient design, using all available resources in the most cost-efficient manner possible, allowing for more production of weapons, resources and gems for the Empire. On Homeworld, it was a completely different paradigm. Extravagance was the norm. Geometric designs were everywhere, right angles and sharp edges abound, and everything was of a scale hitherto unimaginable. It was awe inspiring.

  
  


Soon they reached a transport, a translucent tube, and began to move towards the palace, the imposing structure sending spikes of anxiety and fear throughout the group, yet they showed nothing. Their armor was immaculate, all scratches buffed and any damage repaired to present them at their best. Their resolve and discipline, while still being cultivated as a newborn force of arms, was on full display, keeping in lockstep with their comrades as they made their way to the palace itself, escorted by a compliment of Citrines, who mainly were for the prisoners, kept in check by destabilizer staves. They soon reached the palace doors, guarded by two hulking Onyx honor guards clad in master crafted suits of armor, wielding massive halberds, while unwieldy and mainly ceremonial in the hands of a common soldier, were deadly tools of war in the employment of the honor guards. While the brigade of rubies displayed marked discipline and professionalism when compared to their kin in other units, they were untrained youths when equated to the honor guards of the Diamonds.

  
  


1VZ remembered staring at the massive gems in a mixture of fear, trepidation and veneration. She often wondered if she would see these giants of war in action, but her thoughts were interrupted when the Onyx to the left of the entrance turned and pushed open the massive door with relative ease. It turned back towards the group.

  
  


“The Diamonds will receive you in the throne room. Tread carefully, for you step within the domain of those most high, and most powerful,” it stated, its tone carefully neutral, belied by the implied threat in the words.

  
  


Soon the group began to move, and they entered the palace itself, the massive door swinging shut behind them. All around them were officials, officers of various ranks and designations, bureaucrats, technicians, diplomats and all the myriad gems needed to maintain the grounds and run the day-to-day business of a galaxy spanning empire. Upon the walls of such a massive edifice were frescos and murals, displaying hundreds upon hundreds of images depicting past glories, triumphs and the epochs of time of such a long lived regime. Columns resembling geological formations creeped into the domed ceilings, creating a network of pillars that simply astounded her in its immensity and complexity. They approached a stairway, rising hundreds of meters into the air, reaching a platform inexplicably empty of all save for a squadron of Onyx honor guards, even more menacing than the last two examples of their caste and creed.

  
  


They ascended the stairway, reaching the platform, the honor guards stolid sentinels, constantly examining all those around them and those within the palace itself. They were granted entry into the throne room through a set of doors, smaller than those that barred entry into the palace save for those with clearance, or who were summoned by those that resided within, but were still examples of the masterfully crafted artifice that defined the palace and the grounds around it.

  
  


1VZ subtly looked around, wondering with some trepidation when they would reach their destination. Did the palace have no end? How immense was the structure that the matriarchs of Homeworld resided in that it would take those who would wish to see them almost an hour of travel? Once again, her train of thought was cut short as they approached a set of thrones, three in total, and her anxiety spiked without restraint.

  
  


The two at the fore, upon raised daises with sets of stairs reaching up to the thrones, rose to impossible heights, towering over even the Onyx honor guards, seeming to make insects of all who approach in their immensity. To the left was a throne colored yellow, to the right was one colored blue, identical in construction, but entirely different in demeanor, if one can attribute such a characteristic to an inanimate object such as a throne. Behind both thrones, upon an elevated platform higher than the two at the fore, was a white throne. It was completely different to the two beneath it, extravagant and immense compared to its contemporaries, with a white diamond at the apogee of the structure. She felt an innate sense of loyalty upon seeing it. Not to the throne, but who the throne represents. It exudes power, in a manner only an absolute ruler claiming dominion over all others with the power to prove it could. Soon, three flashes of light, blue, yellow and white greeted them, and three pearls emerged from the display, one blue, one yellow, and one white.

  
  


The Yellow Pearl, with a flourishing movement, spoke. “All rise for the luminous Yellow Diamond!”

  
  


The Blue Pearl soon followed, a small courtesy preceding her words. “And the lustrous Blue Diamond.”

  
  


A moment’s pause, all eyes turned towards the middle pearl. It was a pale thing, stiff and rigid, as if held within a restricting mold, its dainty feet not even touching the floor, hovering seemingly with ease, clad in a pale white bodice, her gem at its navel on full display. It radiated an disquieting aura that had everyone on edge, creating a tense atmosphere so thick that it felt more akin to an opaque liquid. Every breath was quietly taken, careful of disturbing the silence. What she remembers most was its face, a horrid, pale caricature of an otherwise pleasing countenance that nearly made her step back in unease. It was as if a devil of darkest imagination had possessed a host and was attempting to look the part of a normal creature. It was more akin to an automaton, the fluidity of normal movement in gems absent in its overall visage. A fissure covered the left eye, the spiderweb cracks spreading out in all directions, reaching its mouth, marring the porcelain smile it wore, framed by its hair, twisted into swirling buns on either side of its face. It was unsettling to say the least.

  
  


It moved to speak, and its voice roused both existential horror and fierce, undying loyalty in each and every ruby present. “And the august White Diamond.”

  
  


A blinding flare of light appeared behind the three pearls, obfuscating the three monstrously gigantic frames that appeared not a moment later. After a second had passed, the corona of light receded, and the forms of the Diamonds were illuminated to all in the vicinity. The atmosphere of the chamber changed in an instant, awe and wonder replacing the unsettling feeling inspired by the pearl. She was stunned at their majesty, their immense scale and immeasurable power. They were figures of simply unequalled artifice, wonder and grace, yet were imposing and terrifying in the same instance, creating a mixture of emotions within her that she couldn’t begin to describe

  
  


The one to the left, colored yellow, undoubtedly Yellow Diamond, was the epitome of strength and military discipline characterized by her poised, exacting stance, arms clasped behind her, feet shoulder width apart. 1VZ was in awe of the personage, a helm with a forward pointing tip rested upon her forehead, tilted back, framing her countenance, stern features and harsh lines with short cropped hair, along with a piercing, analytical gaze that bore into her soul, amalgamated into a visage that inspired discipline and fear at the same time. She wore a brass colored breastplate with pointed pauldrons that only added to the image she portrayed. A cord of office wrapped around her front, imperial red, with a pendant that contained a glass replica of the gem of her namesake proudly displayed for all to see. Olive colored knee high boots and gloves, with a sword in its sheath at her waist, completed the aspects of general, leader, warrior that Yellow Diamond encompassed.

  
  


To the right, garbed in blue, flowing robes, with embroidered flower designs accentuating the artifice of the cloth, was Blue Diamond. She was graceful, regal, her stance one of purity of purpose, yet contained within a constant grieving undertone. Azure skin, flawless and gleaming, and long, straight, alice blue hair was what she most remembers, giving her an otherworldly appearance that stunned her beyond words. Her features were of beatific splendor, almost angelic, as if sculpted from the purest of marble by the hands of a skilled artisan. Her eyes were one of gentleness, holding none of the harshness in her yellow counterpart. A diplomatic air surrounded her, reason and empathy in spades, but carried with it an undertone of rigidity and austerity, and she didn’t know what to think.

  
  


Behind both of them stood one that outshone them without a shadow of a doubt. Her grandeur, size, and majesty were beyond comparison. She inherently knew who it was, and a fierce feeling of loyalty forced its way into her psyche, both natural and artificial. It was her diamond, the one she was made for, White Diamond. A black crown of master artifice rested upon her head, with a glass replica of the gem of her namesake in the center of the brow. Her eyes were coronas of white light, her countenance one of haunting beauty. Her snow white hair and skin shone brightly, as if she were projecting a glowing light throughout the chamber with her mere presence, bringing illumination and truth for all to see. Her flowing robes were embroidered with geometric diamond shapes, enhancing her features all the more. She was order, power, and authority incarnate. None could and would challenge her orders, for there were few, if any, who could rival such a force of nature that was White Diamond, and even then they would fall short of her majesty and perfection.

  
  


In an instant, in unison, all the gems saluted the Diamonds, their poise and uniformity near perfect.

  
  


The Diamonds soon looked upon those they summoned, eyeing them with critical gazes. Yellow Diamond studied the rubies, immediately intrigued by the size difference from her own rubies. They wore armor more in line with shock infantry, and were much bulkier than a standard ruby, musculature accentuated by the thick armor plating, their height practically towering over the ruddy foot soldiers she had created. They were much more disciplined, making nary a peep when they entered the throne room, their stances without flaw, their salutes perfectly performed. She liked that. Upon noting the white diamond sigil on their armor and uniforms, a small frown grew on her face, risking a glance at White Diamond, before returning her gaze to the gems in question.

  
  


Blue Diamond was curious to see what had drawn the attention of not only Yellow Diamond, but White Diamond herself, drawing her out from her lonely sojourn in her wing of the palace. She hardly saw White anymore, so these gems had earned a mark of approval from her for getting them altogether like this. They were certainly odd, being larger than any ruby she had ever seen, but were just another breed of soldier, if their disciplined stances were anything to go by. But they had the attention of White Diamond, so she was eager to learn more about these new gems.

  
  


White Diamond was pleased. It seemed her experiment had born fruit, and all the resources poured into this project weren’t wasted. She looked upon them with a smile, a smile of a carpenter upon a completed project, or a smith upon a finished sword, or suit of armor. She had been worried that they would be wiped out when she received the news that the colony they were conducting the experiments on was being attacked by a rebel armada, and all the effort, time and resources she poured into the project would be for nothing, a spark snuffed out before it could grow into a mighty flame, but was surprised to find that they had survived the initial onslaught when the relief flotilla arrived, and had a hand in destroying the rebels, displaying remarkable efficiency and an exacting professionalism in their conduct. So far, they had met expectations, but more tests were in order to fully explore the capabilities of these new weapons of war, and to test if these costly gems were worth the effort. And she had a test in mind that would do just that and more.

  
  


The Diamonds gestured to them to be at ease, and moved to their respective thrones.

  
  


Yellow Diamond was the first to speak, her voice a stern, unyielding timbre, demanding perfection without explicitly stating it. “Whomsoever commands this unit, please step forward.”

  
  


A ruby complied, stepping five paces towards the diamonds before stopping, saluting.

  
  


“Designation and rank?”

  
  


“Ruby Facet-2LM Cut-2VZ. Colonel, My Diamond.”

  
  


Yellow Diamond stared at the ruby for a few moments, mouth slightly agape in sheer astonishment, before she shook her head and brought up a screen, entering in the given information, reading the file that was brought up. She sent the file to both Blue and White Diamond, the former taking much interest in the contents, while the latter skimmed over the details, already aware of what was to be discussed.

  
  


“You are the acting commander of the combat unit 17790-9LM, correct?”

  
  


“Correct, My Diamond.”

  
  


“Then, I congratulate you and your unit’s first-rate defense of your colony from rebel forces. Your actions bought enough time for the reinforcement flotilla to reach the colony world of Atticus 9 and subsequently destroy the rebel fleet and all remaining rebel ground forces, while ensuring the safety of the planetary governor and their cadre, many of whom are of my court. I’m told by your superiors that you also had a hand in the final push to destroy the rebels, correct?”

  
  


“Correct, My Diamond. My unit was the first to strike the death blow to the traitors, and with the aid of reinforcements, scoured them from the surface of Atticus 9, capturing the defectors who led this effort and delivering them to you in person.”

  
  


Yellow Diamond glanced to the gems behind the ruby formation, all in cuffs, guarded by the citrines with destabilizer staves. All of them looked upon her with a rage filled glare, full of hatred and promises of destruction and shattering. She held nothing but contempt for them, and she made a note to ask Blue to schedule their public execution this afternoon. She had free time then.

  
  


“I see. You and your soldiers will be commended on such efforts. Bringing in dangerous, defective gems such as these is an action only the most skilled, disciplined and driven soldiers are able to accomplish.”

  
  


“Thank you, My Diamond.”

  
  


It was Blue Diamond who spoke next. As before, it was the complete opposite to her counterpart. She was soft spoken, her voice a mellow, tender lilt, accented in such a way that it couldn’t help but inspire calm and tranquility in those closest to her. “Your efforts not only ensured the safety of those of Yellow’s court, but of mine as well. The sapphires and those of my diplomatic corps present on Atticus 9 expressed much thanks and high praises for your actions to ensure that no harm came to them, some noting that those under your command conducted themselves with great professionalism and efficiency, a rarity for rubies. Forgiveness for any offense, Colonel.”

  
  


There was no offense in her words, everyone knew it, for there couldn’t be. A Diamond’s words were fact, and everyone in the chamber, save for the defective rebels, knew this to be true. 1VZ, and all the other rubies of her brigade understood her viewpoint, for they observed such behavior from other sections containing rubies, and noted that they were entirely unprofessional and of a lower quality when compared to others of their own stock. Such a viewpoint was shared by many, and the rubies were content to let their actions speak for themselves instead of taking offense, for it would do nothing to change such thoughts. Only actions would.

  
  


“No offense is given, My Diamond. We only did what is expected of those in service to the Authority.”

  
  


A soft coo came from Blue Diamond. "So polite and respectful."

  
  


A chuff came from Yellow Diamond. “You say that about every gem who adheres to the protocols even the slightest bit, Blue.”

  
  


Blue Diamond made an affronted huff. “But it’s true, is it not?”

  
  


“Yes,” Yellow Diamond admitted. “But it isn’t an act worth praising, especially coming from gems such as these.”

  
  


As the two Diamonds began their minor argument, 1VZ only had eyes for White Diamond, who looked upon them with the same satisfaction of a creator gazing upon their finished creation. She wanted to drop to her knees in reverence, salute, and scream her undying loyalty to her Diamond all at the same time, but she held her stance, standing at attention while her commander stood at the fore before the Diamonds, watching the argument with mild bemusement. She had heard mutterings from the citrines they traveled with about the Diamonds, how awe inspiring and terrifying they could be, that their size, strength, and authority was simply peerless, and that one would have to restrain themselves from prostrating themselves at their fore in sheer debasement. She had doubts that such beings could exist, that a singular individual could invoke such emotions from all who looked upon them seemed dubious at best to the soldier. But now, as she looked upon the majesty and raw power that was White Diamond, words alone seemed to undersell the image that a Diamond portrayed.

  
  


“Enough.”

  
  


That singular word halted all conversation, all eyes turning to the one who spoke it. White Diamond looked from Diamond to Diamond, a look of mild irritation upon her face.

  
  


“This argument is meaningless. Regardless of whether or not politeness and adherence to protocol is worthy of praise, we have more important matters at hand.”

  
  


The two Diamonds looked sheepishly at their superior.

  
  


“Forgive us, White,” Yellow Diamond apologized.

  
  


A small hand wave dismissed the apology.

  
  


“It is already forgiven, Yellow, just be sure to not entertain your arguments in my presence. Especially upon the eave of the Grand Campaign.”

  
  


Yellow gasped in astonishment, while Blue made a noise of understanding.

  
  


“So this is why you gathered us here. Mere soldiers defending a colony world isn’t worth our full attention.”

  
  


White Diamond nodded at this, a small smile upon her face.

  
  


“It is time to expand our spheres of influence, to enrich our empire and to bring the glory of our dominion to the entirety of our galaxy. For far too long have we languished within our current borders, our resources being siphoned and depleted, and those that serve the Authority are lesser for it. We must expand, create new colonies, fortress worlds, munition hubs, and paradises for those deserving of it. I hereby decree a Grand Campaign of Expansion. Both of you shall send forth expeditionary fleets and colonize alien worlds for two hundred years. This shall take place five months from now, and these new soldiers shall be the vanguard for such an endeavor. Our dominion shall encompass all the stars within our galaxy, and our empire shall be prosperous. Let it be so.”

  
  


She was jostled from her memory by a hand upon her shoulder. She flinched, her hand instinctively reaching for her gem, ready to draw her weapon at a moment’s notice. Her eyes were wild, her breathing fast paced and light. She moved without thinking to the wall so that her back was against it. She was safe, there wasn’t anyone behind her. There was a wall to her back. She was safe. She was safe. Yet she saw the monster, the fusion, the one that killed them, looming over her, their weapon raised, poised to strike. It quickly faded, the gem being replaced by the slightly overweight organic, but the feeling of danger, the need to get away, to be safe still loomed in her mind. Steven quickly withdrew, hands out in an apologetic and placating manner.

  
  


“Sorry, you just zoned out on me and stopped talking for a while. You ok?”

  
  


1VZ blinked once, twice, and thrice before responding to the query.

  
  


“Oh, uh...yeah. I’m fine,” she said, brutally pushing down the feelings of terror and vulnerability to the dark recesses of her gem, forcing a mask of stoic calm, just like her commander taught her. She took three deep breaths, and her façade was complete, the stoic soldier who followed orders slid into place.

  
  


After a moment of awkward silence, Steven attempted to end it with another question, seeking to steer the conversation back to something more palatable. But before he could speak, the temple rumbled, as if something massive had struck the structure. 1VZ briefly thought that it might collapse into itself from the sheer amount of shaking, but it soon subsided, replaced by a thundering, animalistic roar.

  
  


“Oh man, something is attacking the temple! I better go help!” Steven proclaimed, rushing to the vein like tubes, crawling up them at a slow pace. He stopped, turned back towards 1VZ, a look of hope upon his face.

  
  


“Hey, wanna help us with this?”

  
  


Initially, 1VZ wanted to refuse outright, as she was in no mood to fight anything, much less aid the rebels of all things. But the thought of being trapped in the rebel base any longer overshadowed her feelings, and she nodded in confirmation. She leaped onto the tubes and followed the organic, soon passing through a set of doors with a star, each point containing a certain color. More than likely pertaining to the inhabitant in question, but she dismissed such things, focusing on what was outside the building they found themselves in. It was crudely constructed, the material of clearly organic provenance, but it served its purpose, in a sense. They passed through a flimsy door and beheld the sight before them. The rebels, all three of them, were rushing to and fro, dodging the attacks of a massive creature. It was a thing of madness, clearly not originating from the planet’s natural fauna, with a light purple hue coloring its skin. Spikes stretched across its back, defensive measures from her perspective, that folded and raised as it was attacked, warding off the predation of the rebel gems. Its tail was a spiked mace in all but name, with a large, smooth orb tipped with jagged spikes swinging this way and that, trying in vain to strike its opponents. Its four feet were clawed, swiping at any gem that got too close with lighting speed. Its maw was one of large, pointed fangs, and its roar was deafening to all nearby. It had no eyes, relying on its large, rotating ears to sense its attackers.

  
  


Steven stared at the thing before him, and muttered to himself, “This is a first.”

  
  


1VZ clearly heard the personal comment, and it didn’t inspire confidence in her to say the least, but she summoned the leaf bladed sword and prepared to charge the beast, hoping against hope that she would have the energy and strength to fight her captors when this was all over.


End file.
